One of my joys is hunting for early 20th century European kitchen canisters! I've found them in Easthampton (my first set), Paris, and Amsterdam, and the search continues. I was stunned the other night when we went to Bouche a Oreille, a fromage restaurant in the Place St. Louis. The restaurant is filled with kitchen canisters of the style I collect, and I felt anxious that I wasn't the only one looking for them at flea markets and antique stores!
Yesterday, we went to the local Marche aux Puces in the Metz Exhibition Park to see what was being sold. Held two times a month from 7 am to noon, the flea market is a wonderful place to watch people and things. I saw some canisters, but wasn't blown away by them; I like to buy them in complete sets, which is sometimes difficult. After walking around not one but two large halls of stalls (actually, you couldn't call them that...people often set up their wares on the floor), we headed off to Conflans-en-Jarnisy for an antique fair.
As David notes in his blog, this experience was tout French. The antique dealers at this high-end fair were happy to provide information about the pieces on exhibit. A dealer who learned the art of caning showed us his craft. My favorite pieces were enamel work made in Longwy.
I particularly liked this Longwy plate, and the dealer was nice enough to let me take a picture of it. After walking around the two halls, we enjoyed lunch and conversation with the fair "expert," a man who was there to answer people's questions about the antiques.
Although I didn't find any canisters to my liking on this outing, I learned about other collectibles that are pleasing to the eye. However, the hunt will continue...
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