Perched above the Annapolis Basin in the small Annapolis County community of Upper Clements, near the historic town of Annapolis Royal, Clementsport Antiques operates out of a building with a story of its own: a former carriage house standing beside a house dating to around 1803 that once served as a stagecoach inn. That history sets the tone for a gallery spread across two floors, where the inventory runs well beyond typical secondhand furniture into fine art, objets d’art, and antiques gathered from Asia, Europe, and North America.
The range on offer is unusually wide for a shop of its size. Visitors have found a portrait of actor Robert Mitchum painted by New York artist Miller Gore Brittain in 1938, artwork attributed to Ian Dobson of the Group of Seven, a letter box once belonging to composer Franz Schubert, and a Sicilian folk art reliquary, alongside mid-century furniture, 1950s and 1960s retro pieces, and period seating that includes bentwood Thonet chairs. The gallery has also carried a rare Banksy piece and, among its more striking finds, a complete Frank Lloyd Wright dining room suite from the Taliesin Collection. Every item is presented either in excellent original condition or restored to what the gallery describes as a very high standard, and the mix of documented fine art alongside decorative antiques gives the space more the feel of a small museum than a conventional shop.
Clementsport Antiques has had a public web presence since 2005, among the longer-running online listings for an antiques business in this part of Nova Scotia, and that longevity has let it build relationships with buyers well beyond the immediate Annapolis Valley, serving collectors on a national and international basis. Even so, the physical gallery remains very much a local destination, open seven days a week from 11 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, making it an easy stop for anyone touring the Annapolis Basin alongside nearby attractions such as Annapolis Royal’s historic gardens and Fort Anne, or the family attractions at Upper Clements Parks just down the road.
What distinguishes Clementsport Antiques from a general antique mall is curation. Rather than renting booth space to many independent dealers, the gallery presents a single, considered collection where fine art sits beside furniture and decorative objects with equal care given to sourcing and condition. That approach rewards visitors willing to spend real time on both floors, since a single room might hold a piece of documented Canadian art history next to a mid-century lamp or a piece of continental porcelain, each selected on its own merits rather than grouped by category alone.
For collectors, decorators, and travelers exploring the Annapolis Basin region, Clementsport Antiques offers a rare combination: a two-floor gallery of fine art and antiques sourced internationally, housed in a carriage house beside a home built around 1803, with a sweeping water view and a track record of notable finds. Clementsport Antiques is a two-floor fine art and antiques gallery in Upper Clements, Nova Scotia, open daily overlooking the Annapolis Basin, known for sourcing museum-quality pieces from Asia, Europe, and North America alongside documented Canadian and international artwork.
