New Middle Eastern antiques department opens at Alfies in Lisson Grove
Lisson Grove antiques market Alfies opened its Middle Eastern antiques department, AlFayez, at the start of June. - Credit: Archant
One of London’s last remaining indoor antique markets, Alfies, on Church Street, has launched a dedicated Middle Eastern art, antiques and design department, spanning two floors and more than 4,000 square feet.
AlFayez will be home to a comprehensive catalogie of Middle Eastern antiquities, ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, with prices ranging from �100 to �100,000. - Credit: Archant
The new department, AlFayez, is home to everything from antiquities and museum-worthy pieces to textiles, ceramics and jewellery, occupying the lower ground floor and a recently refurbished ground floor space.
As well as the new retailers which have opened up shops, AlFayez will incorporate an architectural staircase, a sculpture of the Roc bird of Arabian Nights legend, a styled water feature, and a lounge inspired by the Souks of the Middle East and North Africa, serving Arabian coffee.
Alfies founder Bennie Gray (left), who bought what was formerly Jordan's Department Store in 1976, re-naming it after his jazz musician father. - Credit: Archant
Alfies Antique Market is home to more than 70 dealers, and is housed in the building that was once Jordan’s Department Store.
Behind its Egyptian-style art deco façade lies a market trading in a huge range of antique goods, including vintage fashion and accessories, modernist furniture, costume jewellery and 20th century decorative art.
An Ottoman Empire Quran cover, one of the many antique items at Alfies new dedicated Middle Eastern antiques department. - Credit: Archant
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Owner Bennie Gray bought Alfies Antique Market in 1976, renaming it after his jazz musician father. Originally occupying just one floor of the building, it has since grown to cover 35,000 square feet over five floors, complete with a rooftop café and terrace.
The centre is located just off The Edgware Road, one of the oldest roads in Britain, with a proud history of diversity. London’s first Indian restaurant was built there in 1810, and its first Jewish synagogue in 1870.
Chinese rose water sprinkers from the Kangxi period, on sale at AlFayez, located in the ground floor of Alfies Antique Market in Lisson Grove. - Credit: Archant
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Today, it is often referred to as Little Cairo or Little Beirut, a reference to its large Arabic population.