The Ground Floor entrance to ALFayez Those of you who shopped in the Mews at Grays will be familiar with the collective of dealers trading in Middle Eastern Art, Antiques & Design. Friday 1 June 2018 saw Alfies Antique Market launch AlFayez, a new department showcasing antiquities and museum worthy pieces to textiles, ceramics and jewellery from more than 25 professional Middle Eastern antique dealers previously based in the Mews at Grays Antiques. These new shops occupy the whole of the lower-ground floor as well as a newly refurbished area of the ground floor at Alfies, to setu ..read more

Love is in the air, and it's also in the antique market! As Valentine's Day draws near and the search for that perfect, heart-felt gift intensifies, we're taking a look at the timeless, and unusual, symbols of love in the decorative arts. Hearts Few symbols encapsulate love and romance as universally as the iconic heart. Dating back to Ancient Greece, where lyric poetry associated the 'mad heart' with our strongest human emotions, this symbol has endured through the ages. In 1344, the first known image of the classic heart icon that we know appeared in The Romance of Alexander manuscript ..read more

Circle of Johann Bockhorst , Flemish School, Portrait of a Lady Wearing Pearls, oil on panel,c. 1630. For sale at PBC Fine Art. In a quiet corner of Patrick Boyd-Carpenter's shop on the lower ground floor, our attention was drawn to a recent acquisition: a 17th century oil painting depicting a young lady adorned with a delicate string of pearls. This sparked a fascination to explore the intricate interplay between jewellery and portraiture in the hope of offering a richer understanding of the artworks in his collection.The Pearly Queen Jewellery to this day remains a signifier of wealth ..read more

An African 'Ife' style bronze head, probably from Nigeria. Part of a collection of tribal art from across the African continent available at Tabunov Antiques  This spring, Bonhams African Modern & Contemporary Art department declared that they have seen 'an explosion of interest in modern and contemporary art from Africa'(1). Their statement is backed up by evidence of higher than ever prices reached at auction for the specialism, notably at the recent Marceau Rivière Collection of African Art at Sotheby’s Paris (18-19 June 19). A rare Baule mask from the Ivory Co ..read more

Mayfair is the art capital of London, and we’re proud to be one of over 150 galleries and auction houses established within this historic district. From the 28th-30th of June our neighbourhood will host the Mayfair Art Weekend, a series of exhibitions, events and happenings taking place across the area.  It’s a chance to to see Mayfair at it’s very best. This year the programme includes exhibitions of old masters and contemporary performance art, and will host expert speakers, established and emerging artists at a series of private views, evening receptions and in-store events.  ..read more

Shop for fabulous fully restored antique jewellery at Diem  Year on year, global consumption rises whilst our anxieties over just what we are doing to our planet continue to grow. Think-pieces on how to live sustainably, shock studies on consumer impact to the environment and daily reminders from politicians and activists on our carbon footprint swirl around us. Sometimes it can be totally overwhelming, and it's hard not to feel helpless! But that's where #SustainableShopping comes in - Whilst we do admit to a bias (!) shopping for antique rather than high street items not onl ..read more

Exquisite antique lace, period embroidery and linen, coats, veils, scarfs and stoles are all part of Diane Harby's internationally recognised collection... Something Old...A Model in Antique Lace Her busy store is visited by designers and couturiers, art and fashion students, collectors, traders and of course -brides to be! Antique lace and linen is an incomparable material for luxury clothes and interiors that brings real history and craftsmanship to any design. We went to her shop on the lower ground floor to find out more... Diane please tell us how did you come into such a ..read more

Alexander Tabunov of Tabunov Antiques been trading at Grays since 2015. He specializes in Russian art and antiques, Faberge pieces, icons, bronzes, enamel, silver and porcelain. We have come to his shop to find out more about him and his incredible collection of unique objects... Alexander Tabunov in his shop: Unit 124, Lower Ground, Grays Alexander, please tell us about how did it all start for you? I started as a market trader in St. James’ selling Soviet memorabilia, but then I moved into antiques like porcelain figures, bronze statues, and silver enamel. I changed direction ..read more

What better way to prepare for the seasonal festival of Halloween than to revisit Shakespeare's darkest tragedy: we take a look at the enduring imagery of Macbeth ... 19th Century Watercolour by George Cattermole 1800-1868. "Macbeth." Halloween (also known as 'All Hallows Eve') is a yearly festival on the 31st of October, the eve of All Hallows' Day. The Gaelic Pagans  held the yearly festival to be a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through. These pagan traditions were particularly strong in Ireland and Sco ..read more

Marina Oriental Art is one of the finest and most well established Asian Art specialists in London... The dealership is run by Marina Kokhan, a trained classical historian well versed in the visual cultures of (to name a few !) Japan, China, India and Ancient Greece Working for many years as a museum curator in Moscow, Marina became particularity passionate about Japanese Art. Her specialism is the Meiji period; world renowned for it's beautiful intricacies, and of which she holds some of the rarest and finest pieces in existence. Marina, please tell us what is so special about Japanese ..read more