The Treasure House Fair

A history of maritime bravery and heroism on display at London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea

Wick Antiques will be exhibiting at The Treasure House Fair this summer

Wick Antiques is delighted to announce it will be back at the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, exhibiting at The Treasure House Fair. Since the inception of Masterpiece in 2009, Wick Antiques has been honoured to regularly exhibit historically significant and interesting works of art in this iconic location.  This year we will continue our summer tradition showcasing models and medals, paintings and prints to celebrate the bicentenary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution alongside other nautical pieces.

Wick Antiques will be at the Fair from 28th June – 2nd July, 2024, with a wonderful selection of maritime art and artefacts that highlight the incredible heroism of those willing to face the unpredictable seas to save others.  The UK coastline is a treacherous place, with even the most experienced leisure and commercial mariners able to get into difficulties. Our stand will display a variety of models from a silver presentation rowing lifeboat to one of the first Hydraulic Steam Lifeboats – the harbinger of the incredible leap from manpower to steam power which would transform the efficiency of RNLI lifeboats into the 20^th century. There is an extensive archive from Sir Harold Dudley Clayton, which includes naval architects’ drawings, photograph albums, photographic glass slides and other fabulous models. Some famous rescues come to vivid life in the paintings of Joseph Newington Carter, the tragic the loss of the Scarborough Lifeboat Amelia in 1861, and of Thomas Rose Miles, the Hastings Lifeboat crew rowing into a stormy sea to investigate a tiny flare in the distance.

Alongside the tribute to the RNLI there will be interesting items relating to the  Royal Navy, the merchant navy and finally the great sailing boats from the Golden Age of yachting.

This exciting and interesting collection will be accompanied by the fifth catalogue in the Wick Antique series, ‘Britain on the High Seas: Heroic Endeavour’. This book will provide a detailed history of many of the items on display and can be purchased ahead of the Fair. All items will also be uploaded onto our website (wickantiques.co.uk). Proceeds from the sale of the catalogue will be donated  to the RNLI.

To order your tickets for The Treasure House Fair (28th June – 7th July 2024), please follow the link  Treasure House Fair Tickets

About The Treasure House Fair:

London’s pre-eminent inter-disciplinary art fair, The Treasure House Fair was founded in 2023 by Thomas Woodham-Smith and Harry Van der Hoorn – the co-founders of

Masterpiece (2009-2022). Brought to life in less than six months following the closure of Masterpiece, the fair’s first edition set in the beautiful grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea offered a fresh and bold remastering of London’s traditional summer fair, with a promise to preserve the event’s international renown for expertise and exceptional quality. Emboldened by the success of its opening year, the fair returns in 2024 with a larger space, with sustainable innovations and materials used throughout, and an extended roster of exhibitors – up 30% on last year.