With the masterpieces in London

A marble Roman torso of Apollo (1st-2nd century AD), a rare and exceptional caleche (carriage) for a princely child (later 18th century), the Whitney emerald in an art-deco setting by Tiffany (c. 1925), blue and white European jars and vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (c. 1700-10), a 56-carat Colombian Mughal cut emerald carved for Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh (17th century), La Femme et la Tour Eiffel, an oil on canvas by Robert Delaunay (1925), Paysanne Assise et Chevres by Camille Pissaro (1884), an English silver pressed metal and parcel gilt four poster bed (c. 1860), Seated Figure With Bird by M F Husain (1959) offered, respectively, by Charles Ede, Kraemer Gallery, Siegelson, Jorge Welsh, Susan Ollemans, Dickinson, Richard Green, Rose Uniacke, and the collective Asian Art in London - these were some of the constituents by 150 participants at this year's Masterpiece fair in London.

Hospital grounds, present or past, are an unlikely venue for a high-end fair, but the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London was the sixth consecutive venue for Masterpiece (June 21-July 1), so exclusive that its rarefied world commanded entry tickets of £25 each, with the preview priced at an extraordinary £100. Considering that most museums in London are free, this is a high price to pay for entrance to its hallowed interiors - and the fair is as exceptional as it is privileged. Preview visitors include the Who's Who of the country, celebrities and royals, but also billionaires and millionaires - not hard to imagine at asking prices for most objects stratospheric enough to send you to your accountants to help convert pounds into rupees (and vice versa).

Torso of Apollo, 1st-2nd century AD (Marble); Charles Ede

And, yet, it is not an opulent fair but an understated one that concentrates on antiques, art and design, everything from rare manuscripts to rarer carpets, from paintings to sculpture, clocks to antiques. In its aisles, amidst giant floral arrangements and in shoulder-rubbing distance of avid collectors, sales of millions of dollars were, if not commonplace, at least frequent.

Masterpiece, all of six editions old, is eclectic, of course, but it is also a benchmark of the finest taste that money can buy in any one place, a bazaar for the world's most exquisite, and expensive, art - a term that applies loosely to everything from jewellery to porcelain, gems to tapestries. Here, some of the most exquisite treasures of the civilised world are showcased in elegant surroundings that recreate the hedonistic world in which they were probably housed, and to which they are destined, making it among the most coveted fairs of its kind.

And, yet, response has been mixed with some galleries signing up for every edition, others quickly changing - a reaction to the audience as well as the high costs involved. But it remains among the most global - cosmopolitan? - meeting grounds for culture and art, where the most erudite come not just to display but to talk with pride of treasures not just worthy of a museum but a veritable pop-up museum where champagne in the aisles is par for the course.

The 2015 edition, which wound up this week, may not yet have the figures, but the 2014 edition sold £100 million worth of art, entertained 35,000 visitors, and was a buzzy networking ground for the rich and beautiful to buy (and sell) discreetly. Beyond the fair, private sales probably offered a lucrative meeting ground. For art and antique lovers, there is probably no other comparable fair that matches its luxe quality, and with exceptional works on offer, there's something for anyone who believes that a lifestyle is not restrictive to any one genre but holds the promise for those who believe that taste is priceless.

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated