by Toma Haines
The smell of ham mixed
with hundreds-of-years-old antiques is in the air! In most countries this isn't a natural
combination automatically going hand-in-hand, but in France La Foire Nationale la Brocante et
aux Jambon is the country's largest antiques and gourmet food
fair and it's back again this fall!
The National Fair of the Flea Market and Ham takes place September 24 - Oct 4,
2009. Over 800 vendors from "toute de France" come to the Parisian suburb
Chatou, bringing the best assortment of antiques I have ever seen in one
locale.
Held twice a year - the other is in March - this market, like almost all French
events, is a Parisian tradition dating back centuries! While I've always
thought the odd combo of selling pork and antiques was a marketing ploy to get
reluctant husbands to go brocanting,
the fair's origins date to the Moyen
Age.
During Holy Week, pork butchers came to Paris to sell their products. One
enterprising butcher decided that he wanted to "bring home more bacon" so he
started selling not only braised ham but the equipment for making it as well,
offering his clients "the taste of Chatou all year round!" The other vendors
caught on to the idea and started bringing more items, focusing on specialties
from their region, namely furniture, pottery and antiques. Before they knew it,
"a festival celebrating both the flea market and ham was born."
I'm not certain how this pre-Easter celebration became a twice annual event,
but I have an un-substantiated theory. In August, tout de Paris departs for
their month-long vacation. This is another tradition which began in the
Middle Ages when the stench from the annual cleaning of the Louvre's moat
forced citizens to flee until the gag reflex-inducing cleaning was over.
I believe that when the Parisians fled to the country, they enjoyed the country
life so much they didn't want to return. Paris had to do something to repopulate
itself, so they used the Foire
aux Lards - as it was then called - as an olfactory pied piper to
lure des citoyens
salivating back to Paris!
The olfactory pied
piper works as well today as it did then. Though I no longer live in
Paris I still return twice a year to shop at the world's best flea
market. A tour through my home finds souvenirs from Chatou in every
room. From the 3 hand painted Russian tray hanging in my stairwell
to the 1200 18th century berger
in my salon, Ham Fair purchases dictate my dcor. In the
winter I wear my 45 1950's fox fur stole and dinner parties have me pulling
out the set of 200 turn-of-the-century majolica knife rests where I sit
my 75 early 20th century mother of pearl and sterling couteaux a poisson.
Prices at Chatou are not low, and sadly they aren't as low as they were before
the Euro, but vendors expect to bargain. I always ask for a 30% discount
and receive at least 20%. But if you hate bargaining, there is a magic
question to softball pitch, "Est-ce votre meilleur prix?" Trust me;
though the vendor might not "parlez anglais" they will understand the question,
"Is this your best price?" For those living in the Ile de France, the
vendor will often include delivery in the purchase price. But for those
like me, who travel to Chatou from afar, the fair coordinators work with
several shipping companies.
Bonne Shopping!
The Antiques Diva
To read more exciting articles written by The Antiques Diva visit www.antiquesdiva.blogspot.com or to book a tour of La Foire Nationale la Brocante et aux Jambon or another European Antiques Shopping Tour at www.antiquesdiva.com Follow me on www.twitter.com/TheAntiquesDiva
