(Photo: Elinor Gordon Gallery)

Though it’s hard to believe, the Winter Antiques Show hasn’t always been the chic-est bazaar in town. “When I did my first one in the seventies,” recalls Mario Buatta, “I told the chairman, ‘You could shoot a cannon in here and you wouldn’t hit a soul! You have to get more people!’ ” Now a must for top dealers and collectors, the show—running January 16 to 25 at Park Avenue’s Seventh Regiment Armory (for tickets, go to winterantiquesshow.com or call 718-292-7392)—is celebrating its 50th anniversary, with Mayor Bloomberg as honorary chairman. “And every single penny,” says chairman Arie L. Kopelman, goes to the East Side House Settlement. Among the rare objets are these vases from Elinor Gordon’s five-piece set of Chinese export porcelain, circa 1770 (value: $27,500). As for the opening gala, a cannon would barely be able to squeeze in—unless it had exceptional provenance.

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