NEW YORK—When expectations are at rock bottom, it doesn’t take much to be pleasantly surprised. On the October 16 preview of the 20th International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show, which opened to the public at the Park Avenue Armory the following day and runs through October 23, the topic on everyone’s mind was how the economy would affect sales, with many of the 61 exhibitors admitting that they did not expect to sell anything. While some dealers saw their expectations borne out, others found reasons to feel pleased.

Paris dealer Maroun Salloum, for example, sold a standing lamp by Jean Royer on the opening weekend. “We did not expect to sell even a lamp,” he said, “but we’ve had interest in many things.”

“The pattern of spending has not changed,” said Jeremy Garfield-Davies, a director of London’s Ronald Phillips, of collector habits in the light of the current global economic downturn. “What has changed is that there is no impulse buying, and people are taking longer to make up their minds.” 

This hesitation on the part of buyers might explain the unusually high number of reserved items on the stands. U.K. dealer Antoine Chenevière said that he was “waiting for a few answers,” and that the fair was “more or less what he expected in this difficult time.” New York- and Geneva-based Phoenix Ancient Art had a number of pieces on reserve, including an Egyptian coffin for an ibis, which was being held for an American museum.  

Martin Levy, director of H. Blairman & Sons of London, said that things were much slower this year, as he expected. For him, the fair was “not a bonanza, but very satisfactory,” adding that his star piece, an elaborate 19th-century agate coupe by Charles Duron, a detail of which is on the cover of the fair’s catalog, is “out on approval” at an American museum.

The fair contained many museum-quality works. Charles Ede of London had a Greek pentelic marble memorial stele from the 4th century B.C., priced at $160,000. “Pieces like this are never seen on the market,” said James Ede, managing director of the gallery, which reported having a great fair, with 15 pieces sold at the end of the opening weekend. “We were not expecting this,” said Ede. “The truth is that really good antiquities are hard to find.”

New York gallery Maison Gerard had a tapestry by Ruth Reeves, circa 1930, which was widely exhibited at the time it was made and was offered at the fair for $48,000, and a patinated and partially gilt four-panel door by Edgar Brandt.

Lillian Nassau Gallery, also from New York, had an unusual, stunning blue dragonfly Tiffany lamp priced at $325,000. Arlie Sulka, the gallery’s managing director, said that she was very optimistic, because “for collectors, what we sell is comfort food.” The gallery reported selling another Tiffany lamp as well, but they would not disclose its price.

Ronald Phillips had a newly reunited pair of George II carved giltwood side tables attributed to Thomas Vardy that until recently had been in two British collections, one in the Earl of Haddington’s and the other in Sir John Gooch’s. Each table has a festooned central mask of Flora, the Roman goddess of plenty, and legs decorated in a pattern of overlapping coins. The auspicious tables were priced at $1.5 million.

The gallery reported selling several important pieces, including a pair of late-18th-century satinwood commodes from Blenheim that Consuelo Vanderbilt brought back to America at the end of World War II, presumably as part of her divorce settlement. They later entered the legendary collection of Judge Irwin Untermeyer, which now forms the nucleus of the English furniture section at the Metropolitan Museum. The commodes sold for around $350,000.

On Monday, Geoffrey Munn, managing director of London-based Wartski, reported selling “a few small pieces.” The gallery, which specializes in Faberge and jewelry, said that because this is the first time the fair has not coincided with major auctions of Russian art, there were no Russian collectors on hand, and, consequently, no Faberge pieces were sold.