Recently while on vacation in Colorado I met a couple who were eager to express their adoration for the Palmetto State. They gushed about the opportunities for outdoor activities in Greenville and Columbia and about the cultural richness of the state.

“…and Charleston,” the man grinned. “Charleston is so full of history, and the history is so tangible. There are pieces of it everywhere that tie to local and international things that have gone on for years.”

It’s true that one of Charleston’s more unique qualities is its deep appreciation for the histories of the city, the state and Europe. This can easily be seen March 13-17 at the 2013 Charleston Art & Antiques Forum. Since 1997, the forum has presented lectures for decorative arts enthusiasts with the mission of presenting them with the best fine and decorative arts scholarship. Each year a theme is selected for which notable scholars and experts are brought in from around the globe. The lectures take place in intimate venues around Charleston in order to allow attendees access to the experts for questions and discussions.

Anyone who has an interest in the history and constructs of formal gardens or the factors that make antiques special will enjoy the collection of presentations that the forum’s board has put together for 2013. This year Dame Rosalind Savill, Director Emeritus of the Wallace Collection in London will be the keynote speaker at the forum. The Wallace Collection is an internationally renowned museum in London that holds a wealth of fine and decorative arts pieces in 25 galleries. The collection includes a number of paintings by Rembrandt, Titian and Van Dycks, to name a few. It also presents an impressive collection of Limoges, 18th century French furniture, porcelain, armor and more.

Dame Rosalind has more than 20 years of experience in the French decorative arts, which she will bring to the forum by setting the stage for this year’s theme: “A Grand Tour: Trade Winds of Influence.” After Dame Rosalind there will be more than a dozen speakers who will present perspectives on how the grand tours of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries influenced American and European art and design, including the fields of architecture, furniture, art and gardens. The lectures will take place at the Old Courtroom on Chalmers Street. Additional lecturers include:

* Dr. Janine Skerry, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
* Matthew Thrulow, Winterthur
* Count Stefano Aluffi-Pentini, art historian
* Joseph J. Rishel, Philadelphia Museum of Art
* Robert A. Leath, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
* Leroy Graves and Margaret B. Pritchard, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
* Mark Laird, Harvard University Graduate School of Design — Landscape Architecture

Along with a host of interesting lectures, program attendees will have the opportunity to take part in an architectural study tour of a private Charleston home. Proceeds from the event will go to the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and their renovation of their Charleston Parlor, which is a reproduction of the 1769 Humphrey Sommers Parlor on Tradd Street. MESDA is the research arm of the Old Salem Museum and Gardens in Winston-Salem, N.C.

For more information about the Charleston Art & Antiques Forum, please click here.