Paris Auctions

Auctions have a long , and somewhat dubious history having been recorded as early as 500 B.C. According to Herodotus, in Babylon auctions of women for the purpose of marriage were held annually. It was considered illegal to allow a daughter to be sold outside of the auction method. Later it was the "Spoils of War"such as conquered land and slaves that would be auctioned off, as well as the assets of debtors.

During the end of the 18th century, soon after the French Revolution, auctions came to be held in taverns and cafés to sell art. Such auctions were held daily, and catalogs were printed to announce available items. France technically isn't the birth place of these art and antique auctions Les Ventes aux Enchères (Sweden is), but their popularity spread like wild fire and today Paris is full of them. Parisians and visitors alike attend on regular basis. Of course, this is just one way of purchasing antiques of all sorts, but non the less a very popular one.

Below I list only some of the biggest and most popular ones:

Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris - 01 40 76 85 85
http://www.christies.com

Sotheby’s, 76 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 75008 Paris - 01 53 05 53 05
http://www.sothebys.com 

Artcurial, 7 rond-point des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris
http://www.artcurial.com

Tajan, 37 rue des Mathurins - 01 53 30 30 30
http://www.tajan.com



Drouot , 9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris - 01 53 79 37 29
 http://www.drouot.com

Néret-Minet & Tessier, 8 Rue Saint-Marc, Paris - 01 40 13 07 79
http://www.neret-tessier.com

Millon et Associes, 5 Avenue Eylau, Paris - 01 47 27 95 34

http://www.millon-associes.com

The Decadents, The Symbolists, and The Vampires

My head is stuck in the past. Lately even more than usual. I have been more or less reading several books at once; Dreamers of Decadence, Dracula, The Vampyre, The Symbolists and such... All masterpieces in their own right, and all an easy means to time travel. The recent trip home further justified this drift. European homes and cities are filled with ghosts of the past, antiques, and nostalgia of all sorts.

I decided to devote the next few posts of this blog to antiquarians, flea markets, auction houses and all merchants of memorabilia. Being a hopeless romantic, I have almost entirely devoted my shopping time to scouring antique shops for certain forgotten Victorian objects, and old books as if they would help me restore something of the past. In the process, it dawned on me that I have never explored the subject of antiques much in this blog.

So, that's to come soon.

For now I leave you with this treat from Maxence Cyrin, not really vintage, but a definite treasure