melbourne antique fair highlights including country oak dresser!

I have returned from the AAADA (Australian Antiques and Art Dealers Association) antiques fair which was held last weekend in Melbourne at the Royal Exhibition building in Carlton Gardens.  I may have seen you there, but if not, I have taken some pictures to give you an idea of what I was involved in and a few of my favourite pieces... 

Image from here

During fair set up, I managed to sneak away to buy some flowers on Brunswick Street for Richmond Antiques' stand.  I was told to go to Vasette, an amazing florist shop that had every type of flower imaginable.  A flower lover's dream, that is for sure.

The choice was difficult but I settled on some white hyacinths, I love white flowers.  I just love white, full stop.

The hyacinths were for a pair of 19th century garden urns, I wanted to make the flowers look "planted" rather than displayed as you would in a vase.  But don't worry, they all had water underneath the moss.

This is the country area of Richmond Antiques' stand, it was much admired during the event.

Including this gorgeous English c.1800 country oak dresser with green plates.  Isn't it delightful?

And this is a French folding wine tasting or vendange table, originally used during the wine harvest seasons in France.  It is in cherrywood and has a wonderful patina. 

An English 19th century decoy duck kept watch over the stand.  Or maybe he did a lot of people watching?

 Also to be found on Richmond Antiques' stand were these amonites on museum stands, as well as a whale vertebrae. 

 Next door to us was this Persian hall runner, I fell in love with it immediately and drooled over it throughout the weekend.  It was exhibited by Behruz studio.

More rugs with Behruz studio.  I love the colours of the two rugs on the left wall.  They were a little outside my budget (and would probably not fit any of my rooms) but it costs nothing to admire...

 This marble figure is Italian, was originally part of a fountain and dates to the 16th century.  It was exhibited on Brans stand, all the way from Perth.

More delectable items on the carefully edited Brans stand.  I love the blue and white Chinese porcelain pots with the orchids.

Image from here

Another stand that I admired belonged to Brownlow Interiors.  Alexandra Brownlow did a fantastic job setting up her stand to show how antiques are used to great effect in the modern interior.  Above is a 19th Century centre table with a marble top, with a pair of giant clam shells. 

Image from here

Image from here

Alex has a natural flair for decorating as you can see from her display, above. 

Overall, I had a tiring but very enjoyable time at the antiques fair.  I returned to Tasmania to a busy store at The Drill Hall Emporium, hence the delay in sharing my images.  I hope they were worth the wait and that you get a bit of a feel for what went on at the AAADA antiques fair...