French Antiques

While googling for something else I just came across a list in the Guardian of what are the 10 best flea markets in France. The flea market near the Porte de Vanves metro stop in Paris is one of the very best in France according to the list and it's hard to disagree. Read the article and see what you think HERE.

Well I have to say that Peter Walker's birthday party in Laas was fabulous. I saw some old friends and there were others there who were lovely too. On Monday morning we left Laas and drove the 100 kms to the spectacular Chateau Coye near Mont de Marsan owned by Roadshow colleague Marc Allum and his wife Lisa to spend a couple of days. The house is wall-to-wall antiques and Marc and Lisa run antiques and painting courses there.

Marc and Lisa were formerly directors of major London auction houses, byt in 2005 they re-located to France to host Antiques and Painting holidays. The Chateau Coye was begun in the late 17th century and evolved over 300 years in the hands of the same family, the Dubrocca Coyes.  Marc and Lisa have lovingly restored Coye after several decades of gentle decline, and it is now a venue for their Antiques, Painting and Gourmet breaks.

If you would like more information then there is a link HERE. I cannot recommend a visit too strongly.

I was talking to a violinist friend of mine today who told me about a bow that has just sold for considerably over its estimate in a French general sale. It was an early 19th Century French bow (they made the best bows, Italians the best violins) and it was thought it would reach €10 - 15,000 – this estimate was put on it by an expert. It eventually sold for €48,000.

We got to talking about the difficulties associated with pricing and identifying antique bows and fiddles and he said he was much happier estimating prices on bows than fiddles, for a number of reasons. Firstly you cannot get inside a fiddle to look at it, as there is no taking them apart. Secondly the labels that one sometimes finds on fiddles might be totally spurious. On the Antiques Roadshow we are always at a disadvantage with bows and violins unless Lars Tharp is with us. None of us feel very confident in dealing with them as a subject area, but Lars really knows his stuff. Like in so many areas of collecting it goes to prove that the level of detailed knowledge that is required can be a vast and perplexing.

There's a  growing movement promoting the fact that antiques are green. Furnishing your home with antiques and 20thC design not only allows you to express yourself and build a truly individual look, but it also helps save our environment. Consider the carbon footprint left by a new chest of drawers made from trees cut down in the Far East, transported to a factory, and shipped across the world for sale. When this, or an MDF or chipboard wardrobe collapses, sometimes after just a few years, it causes yet more environmental issues. Antiques and collectables generally have been 'green' for decades - even centuries – without even knowing it! Recycling by shopping at an auction, dealer, or fair, is wiser, more rewarding, and truly environmentally friendly.

So please visit the Antiques Are Green website and sign up to show your support.

This month there are some fabulous pictures in Country Living magazine here in the UK. They are of my friends Gloria and Eric Stewart's home near Bergerac in France. We stay with Gloria and Eric at least once a year and I've known them since we lived close to one another in Kent. Gloria describes her home as "a bit like a museum". From these pictures you will see what I mean. I cannot do justice to the photographs here on the blog so I'd urge you to get a copy to appreciate Gloria's great style.

Gloria used to have an antique shop in nearby Tremolat for a while and it was a reflection of her exquisite taste. She admits that Swedish furniture is her real passion . There are lots of these traditional French 19th century confit pots dotted around the house, they come in all sizes and in green as well as yellow.  Ten to fifteen years ago you used to be able to pick up pots like the one pictured for around £60 - £80 now I see them advertised for three to five times that on the internet.