Around the galleries: unusual Dutch art and rare Chinese sculpture are on offer in Maastricht's galleries this month

Apollo, March, 2008 by Isabel Andrews

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A fine choice of exhibitions in Maastricht's city centre accompanies the European Fine Art Fair this month. Among the offerings from the eighth Maastricht Fine Art Open House (Tongersestraat 2; 31 [0] 653211649, 6-16 March) are antique and contemporary Japanese art, English Georgian and Victorian furniture and early 20th-century watercolours of Indonesia by Hilda May Gordon. The event's organiser, Guus Roell, has joined forces with the dealer Deon Viljoen to show art produced for the European market in the trading posts of the Portuguese, Dutch and English East India Companies. This includes the intriguing Three Chinese Men in an Interior (1927) by Ernst Agerbeek (Fig. 1). The Open House Collectors' Dinners, which take place each evening, are an opportunity to meet collectors, museum curators and gallery owners. For further information, contact Gum Roell on the number above.

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An exhibition of sculpture spanning the major Chinese dynasties is at Zenith Oriental Art's two galleries (Pieterstraat 2 and Lenculenstraat 29; 31 [0] 650 68 45 44) from 6 to 16 March. Highlights include an extremely rare terracotta horse from the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8); a Yuan sandstone head of an official (Fig. 2); and a striking glazed pottery figure of an early Ming general.

Two churches provide the venues for the Maastricht Antiquarian Book and Print Fair (Church of St Jan and the Lutheran Church; 31 433219932, 6-8 March), at which 40 galleries exhibit rare books, atlases, prints and maps. A special exhibition of the designs of Dom Hans ver der Laan (1904-91), a Dominican monk, architect and typographic designer, accompanies the fair.

Paol & Co. Fine Arts (Cortenstraat 11a; 31 [0]43 3900 911) are exhibiting a survey of Dutch postwar abstract art that includes the work of the avant-garde CoBrA movement (the name is derived from the initials of the members' cities: Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam) and later work by artists from the Hague during the 1950s and 1960s who sought a collective response to the horrors of two world wars. Among the latter was Willem Hussem, whose work was inspired by early cultures and calligraphy.

The Salzburg Art and Antiques Fair (Salzburg Residenz; 43 [1] 587 1293 0) hosts 45 dealers from 15 to 24 March, including Wienerrother & Kohlbacher (A-1010 Wien; 43 1 533 99 77), who are offering 15 works on paper by Gustav Klimt and six drawings by Egon Schiele (Fig. 3).

The Northern Art Show (Harrogate International Centre; 44 [0] 1823 323363), a new fair showcasing contemporary art in the UK, has more than 60 galleries exhibiting emerging and international artists between 21 and 24 March. Visit wwwnorthernartshow.com for a full list of participants.

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