(Photo: A Roman ring seen at the French brocante last weekend.)
The French brocante offers more than disregarded dusty old things from someone's attic, and it offers more than hopeful boxes of disheveled, could-be treasures. The French brocante is not just a place to find unbeatable prices or the chance to find a Picasso. It is a living museum with touch-able history, where you can be the digger in an archaeological site, and best of all, it can be taken home.
French Husband and I met a dealer who specialized in Roman artifacts. The dealer has been collecting for years, and he started selling not so long ago. His stand was full of rare, interesting pieces. He freely shared his knowledge and stories. I felt like a sponge, soaking up every word. I think I must have asked two thousand questions, mostly: "What is this?"
(Photo: A Roman coin found at the brocante last year.)
I must admit I usually spend most of my time looking for things that speak in muted color romance, old things that have more than their fair share of age, and brocante items that have little monetary value but rather tell a story, depict a feeling. I guess you could say I am a sucker for worn beauty
Old coins, especially Roman artifacts, the dealer at the brocante told me, are often found in fields, where Roman roads traversed he mentioned that when a field has recently been toiled bits and pieces from the past are brought to the surface.
Driving home, I thought about the poppy fields soon to be with new insight. Battles fought, lives lost, bits and pieces of unknown stories, and memories, buried within, unearthed over time giving us a key to the past… and red poppies bloom.
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