Despite all my brave intentions about being up early on Sunday and scouring the first outdoor brocante fairs of the season, it has occurred to me that at this time of year an auction house is considerably warmer than a field!!
Next week, to my delight, we get the first auction of the season. Of course our local auction house does some fancy sales for real collectors, but they pile up the 'ordinary' stuff and sell it off in what is called a "vente courante".
These I love! I often bump into a girlfriend there, and we perch on an armchair and enjoy the show that the auctioneer puts on as much as if we were at the theatre!!
The room is always packed full of buyers and also of furniture. The last things to be sold are the rows upon rows of mismatched chairs that we all sit on during the sale. One by one we have to stand up and relinquish our seat to the sale assistant who holds it up in the air, while the auctioneer shouts out high praises of this "chaise exceptionelle!" and bids come trickling in.
Real bargains can be found here, all depends on how lucky you are and how much or how little competition there is for the articles that interest you. The best buy I ever made was a complete wall of old solid oak book shelves and cabinets for 50 euros.
The sale will be held on Tuesday next. Here are a couple of pictures they already put up on their website, but Friday I'll enjoy the pre-sale viewing and get to poke around in the piles of boxes, squint at the dusty paintings and generally have a good time. If you want I'll show you some pictures of the viewing.
Which piece would you bid for?!
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