Miami Beach's "treasure cave" opens with antiques to suit everyone
Miami, Jan 20 (EFE) .- The Original Miami Beach Antiques Fair, with 58 years of history, opened its doors this Thursday as a treasure cave packed with furniture, decorative objects, paintings, watches and jewelry of all vintages and prices. "Here you can find anything from $10 to more than $100,000," Michelle Orman, press officer for OMBAS (Original Miami Beach Antiques Show), told Efe. appointment with the public. In 2021 the covid-19 pandemic forced the fair to be canceled and this year there may be more appetite to buy among those interested in antiques, especially among collectors, some exhibitors at the Convention Center of Miami Beach. Paul Haig, owner of the company Haig's of Rochester (Michigan), is one of those who are optimistic about the results of the event. A PRE-COLUMBIAN FIGURE, AMONG THE OLDEST OBJECTS He has reasons. According to his account, the day before he did business before the opening of OMBAS and added to those that he closed in the first hours of the fair, his sales exceed 35,000 dollars. Haig has for sale one of the oldest objects in this event: a small jade figure that comes from Guatemala and dates from 1,200 to 900 BC. "My best price is $25,000," he replies when asked how much he asks for that object, which is not the only pre-Columbian he has brought to Miami. In another showcase there are several objects from different cultures of what is now Peru. One of them is a strange whistle or ritual wind instrument made of clay that represents the figure of an animal and that Haig makes sound at the request of an interested party. In this case its "best price" is $12,000, but it is just to start to speak because haggling is institutionalized in OMBAS, like almost everywhere where antiques are sold. Another stall, called Mantiques and run by people from New York, specializes in antiques for men's taste. All the objects that are shown stand out for being "bold", an adjective that means bold or intrepid, Grant Steinhauser, one of its directors, tells Efe. In the exhibitors there is nothing that resembles a porcelain figurine. A roulette with all its accessories, the sculpted head of a man or the advertising claim of a doctor from the first half of the 20th century are offered to the sight of visitors. JEWELS DOMINATE THE FAIR The space that houses the fair is enormous, so much so that there are small motorized vehicles available for those who can't walk or get tired. The layman is surprised by the amount of antique and "vintage" jewelry that is displayed in almost all stalls, even those dedicated to paintings, decorative objects and furniture. The glitter of gold, silver and precious stones in necklaces, rings and earrings is only rivaled by the brilliance of antique cutlery, some with so many pieces that they could serve a palace. It is also surprising to see Both watches and women's handbags from luxury brands such as Hermès or Louis Vuitton. Old models in exotic skins and with prices of more than four digits. When Efe asks them if they have bought much from two visitors equipped with carts like those used on ships to bring belongings ashore, they answer no, because -they say - at these fairs "there is nothing anymore, only jewelry." "The same thing happened to us at the one in Palm Beach," says one of them, who does not want to give his name. "It is the easiest thing to transport and store," he points out OMBAS press officer told Efe when asked about the omnipresence of jewelry. When asked about the profile of the visitors, Michelle Orman says that there is not just one: local individuals, tourists who are passing through Miami, designers of interiors in search of unique pieces to decorate mansions and luxury residences and also owners of antique businesses from the United States and other countries. THE EXCHANGE OF LIFE AND THE FAIR It is known that changing hands is the destiny of antiques . Here there is a choice if one wants to participate in that exchange. Next to a Swiss army knife the right size for a giant and with mother-of-pearl handles are two 19th-century Italian stone lions and not far away a pelotari and a fisherman look at visitors from two oil paintings by the Basque painter Angel Cábanas Oteiza (1883-1964), who emigrated to Argentina and died in that country. The owner of these paintings, the Uruguayan antiquarian Isaías Kolender, tells Efe that they belonged to a Polish ambassador in Uruguay who lived in Barcelona when he retired and were part of his estate. Many of the objects that will be on sale at OMBAS until Sunday come from estates. With 35 years of presence at this fair, Kolender longs for past times, such as when before before the doors opened, "there were queues eight or ten blocks long." throw it away and buy another one," he stresses. Ana Mengotti
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