The Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair ended the summer show season. The fall season will begin with the AVENUE show at the Park Avenue Armory on Thursday, September 22nd. Since I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world, I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

The high speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse)

I’m writing this blog post from the TGV, a high-speed train, traveling south from Paris at 150 mph. We’re in France on a buying trip that has been somewhat successful thus far.

A Daum fall scenic vase, similar to the lamp I just purchased

Last minute tickets from New York to Paris were extremely expensive. Many flights from JFK were canceled because of Hurricane Irene, so passengers had to be rebooked, leaving very few seats available. We had to first fly to Helsinki, Finland, to get an expensive, but not ridiculous fare. The flight was full, so some people were upgraded to business class. Miraculously we were two of them. What a difference that made. Among other amenities, the seats reclined flat for sleeping.

Marché Dauphine on Rue des Rosiers

Saturday, we visited the flea markets, where you can get lucky or not. We were lucky. Considering that many of the shops were closed (I guess because some of the dealers were at the fairs in the south and others weren’t back from vacation), we were able to buy some truly outstanding objects, including an extremely rare and beautiful Daum acid-etched and enameled fall scenic lamp. I’ve had quite a few fall scenic vases over the years, but this is the first lamp. I don’t have a photo at this time, but I’ll post one on my website or blog as soon as I’m able.

A Daum swan miniature vase with the same decoration as the larger tumbler I just purchased

We were also able to purchase a super Daum tumbler with swan decoration, a Daum rain miniature pillow vase, a fabulous Daum scenic blownout vase (haven’t had one in many years), a beautiful Daum footed vase with bright yellow flowers, a rare Galle box with two dragonflies on the lid, a gorgeous triangular Galle vase with blue flowers on yellow (windowpane technique), an R. Lalique Monnaie du Pape vase and finally an R. Lalique half-moon shaped clock with birds and rare enameled glass ATO face. I’ll try to post photos on my website, but failing that, they will all be for sale at the upcoming AVENUE show starting September 22.

Now we’re off to the fairs, which are a bigger crapshoot. We could wind up buying some fabulous items or nothing. Plus there’s lots of competition. I’ll let you know the results in my next blog post. The whole trip is really a crapshoot. The expenses are high and the chances of success are variable. Not to mention, pounding the pavement for days on end. There’s lots of hard work involved. The objects don’t magically appear in my booth at the shows. But at least the hard work is in France. Not a bad place to spend time working, especially with my honey!

Fantastic Burgun & Schverer internally decorated vase

Check out my new acquisitions. I recently listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps. I also listed some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras; several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Also coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com