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‘Mao: Art for Masses’ Exhibition On Display at NEC Antiques Fair

ANTIQUES FOR EVERYONE
NEC, BIRMINGHAM B40 1NT
27 - 30 March 2008

A unique and fascinating collection of Chinese communist works of art will be a major attraction at the Antiques for Everyone fair at the NEC, Birmingham from 27 - 30 March 2008. With more than 400 exhibitors from across the UK, Europe and America, Antiques for Everyone is the UK’s largest indoor, vetted antiques fair and a major international event for collectors and dealers.

Titled Mao: Art for the Masses, the display features a unique and important collection of Chinese works of art produced between 1949 and 1976. Belonging to antiques dealers and Chinese specialists Peter and Susan Wain, the exhibition brings together exquisite porcelain groups and figurines, ivory carvings, lacquer plaques, the famous Little Red Book, collectable badges and political posters. The display presents an extraordinary cultural record of a fascinating period of 20th century history. With the complete disappearance of Maoist slogans, architectural monuments, sculptures, dresses, films, plays and mass parades from everyday life in China since the early 1980s, these artefacts are now a unique visual reminder of that historically significant period. (Exhibits in the collection are on display only and not for sale).

The exhibits have been carefully selected to offer insights into the changes of patronage, technique and style in the decorative arts. Some reveal the stories of the personal lives of the artists and their living conditions while others show the relationship between Maoist art and the doctrine of art for the masses. Most of the pieces were originally made for official distribution, international exhibitions and for selling overseas. They were primarily intended to project a desired image of New China to the rest of the world, the image of China as a re-born Utopia. However, many of the pieces rely on the historic traditions of Chinese culture, adapted to the new Maoist ethos of the period.

Mao: Art for the Masses will be on view for the four days of the fair and will be presented by Peter and Susan Wain. Peter Wain is available for interview: Tel: 01407 710077.

Antiques for Everyone features around 400 specialist dealers in every area of antique collecting and period design. More than 100 dealers specialise in ceramics, at least 50 galleries will be showing fine art, around 30 dealers show furniture including Georgian, Victorian, Arts & Crafts and Art Deco; no fewer than 25 dealers specialise in silver and jewellery, while dozens of exhibitors show a wide range of collectables and decorative accessories including everything from 2,000-year-old antiquities to Steiff teddy bears, French clocks, fine engravings, working barometers, tea caddies, early tin-plate toys, scientific instruments, early arms and armour, garden statuary, kitchen antiques, decorative brass and copper, samplers, sculpture and textiles.

All exhibits are for sale and, with prices from less than £50 to more than £100,000; there is something for everyone. Collectors from all corners of the globe regularly attend and an estimated £10million worth of antiques will have changed hands during and after the fair. Most importantly, a committee comprising approximately 200 specialist experts inspects exhibits for quality and authenticity, ensuring that buyers can make their purchases with confidence.

The Antiques for Everyone fairs are organised by Clarion Events NEC and take place every spring, summer and winter.

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