Briefly noted

Magazine Antiques, Oct, 2006 by Miriam Kramer

Over the last few years many improvements have been made to the museums of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. Most recently, the restored Historic Green Vault (Grunes Gewolbe) in the Royal Palace (Residenz Schloss) was opened. Built in the sixteenth century to house the art collections of the Saxon electors, the treasure chamber was refashioned and expanded between 1723 and 1730 for the collection of Augustus the Strong. The name comes from the malachite green color with which some sections were painted. The Green Vault now contains about three thousand treasures in its ten chambers, and the installation adheres as closely as possible to Augustus's inventory lists and designs of 1733.

The East Asia Gallery in the Zwinger Museum, also part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, reopens this month. It was redesigned by the American architect Peter Marino in what was formerly the Orangery. The gallery displays the royal collection of porcelain from China and Japan begun by Augustus in 1715.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Two annual fairs are taking place in Britain this month. One, ArtLondon, will be held on the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea from October 6 until October 10; in previous years it was held in June. The third LAPADA Autumn Antiques and Fine Art Fair takes place at the Centaur at the Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire from October 19 until October 22. The variety of works on offer reflects the specialties of the approximately sixty-five members of LAPADA who exhibit. In addition, there are demonstrations of conservation and restoration techniques used for a variety of works of art.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]