The roaring success of the European Fine Art Fair which opened on March 6 and closes this Sunday in the most unfavorable economic environment ever demonstrates yet again that the art market has a life of its own. A work of irresistible charm offered by Clovis Whitfield of London, the "Portrait of a Young Girl Asleep" by the 17th-century master Carlo Francesco Nuvolone, cost its buyer a very reasonable €220,000. (photo Whitfield Fine Art, London)

The juxtaposition of very expensive and very inexpensive paintings is psychologically effective. By Wednesday, Noortman had sold 14 works, including "The Seduction," one of the greatest pictures by the German painter established in Holland, Caspar Netscher. Bought jointly by Noortman with two colleagues, the Netscher had been offered at Maastricht last year and later in a London gallery. That the €2 million picture found a taker this time says all about the "buy now" mood. (photo Noortman Master Paintings)

The rush on Roman sculpture and Medieval bronzes proved that what makes the art market thrive is passion compounded by the fear of missing out on opportunities. On the stand of the Royal Athena Galleries of New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts bought at the opening the $125,000 (€80,000) granite fragmentary torso of a seated Egyptian scribe of the early 2nd millennium B.C. (photo Royal-Athena Galleries)

Most of the great pieces went to collectors, however. Rupert Wace of London parted with one of the most beautiful bronze heads of a cat from Ancient Egypt. Cast around the 6th century B.C., it carried a €120,000 price tag. (photo Rupert Wace Ancient Art)

The most important Medieval object at Maastricht, exhibited by Blumka & Bohler, was an early 13th-century pouring vessel from Germany in the form of a king riding a steed with his clenched fist extended. The €2.5 million bronze, which would do credit to any major museum, again went to a collector at the opening. (photo Anthony Blumka Gallery)

Lire l'article "A sense of urgency drives Maastricht art fair" de Souren Melikian http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/14/arts/melik15.php