January 14, 2010

Forging On

Today we caught an antique market in La Sarthe. Markets can be hit or miss, but a lot of digging can be worth the trouble. However, skiing your way through a market in freezing temperatures looking at antiques that are literally sitting on a foot of snow is a testament to the lunacy of all die-hard antique dealers, both French and American!

We are finding some furnishings, but so far it been an incredible amount of unique accessories. We’re already up to 135 items after only 3 ½ days and 15 different stops. Finding the rare and unique really requires a “bit by bit” approach, and it’s the only way to keep surprises coming back to our shop. There is time for lunch though. After four hours in the snow, we shared a hot meal and a bottle of wine with a couple we’ve known for ten years – a good way to end a hard morning’s work.

Here are some of the finds of the day:

A Louis XVI period armchair with original paint (c. 1780).

A Napoleon III marquetry box with ivory and exotic wood inlay.

A 19th century framed oil painting of a lovely young girl.

A Napoleon III globe on its original ebonized wooden stand.

A 19th century bronze and mother of pearl “vide poche” for emptying your pockets.

A bit of excitement this evening. Little did we know when we made reservations in a new bed & breakfast that it would be the exact locale and date as the visit to this Normandy village by the president of France. President Nicolas Sarkozy is arriving tomorrow to give his New Year’s wishes to rural France. All the dignitaries of this small town of 9,000 along with the farmer, his wife, and two daughters will be greeting the president in the reception room of their bed & breakfast, followed by a tour of the farm. When we arrived here last night, we were greeted on the road to the farm by ten military policemen who were keeping vigil all night. They pulled us over and made us wait while they verified our reservations at the farm. More later on this.