Colonial Williamsburg will convene its sixty-third annual Antiques Forum between February 20 and 24, 2011. The theme this year, Decorative Arts Forensics: How We Know What We Know, is intended to shed light on some of the fascinating advances in techniques for historical research and scientific investigation that have opened new avenues of verification for curators, collectors, and scholars. The forum will bring together a group of widely recognized authorities, who will present recent findings on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century furniture, metals, ceramics, glass, clocks, musical instruments, and architecture. In addition to Colonial Williamsburg curators and conservators, scheduled speakers include garden historian Paul F. “Chip” Callaway; Robert Hunter, ceramics scholar; Lynne Dakin Hastings from James Madison’s Montpelier; Tom Savage from Winterthur; Daniel Kurt Ackermann from MESDA; and noted antiques dealer and auctioneer Leigh Keno. Optional hands-on workshops with the Colonial Williamsburg collections and private tours of historic houses in the region will also be available. For information or to register call Deborah Chapman at 800-603-0948, or send a fax to 757-565-8921.
