While I’m officially known as an “antiques broker” I think of myself as a perpetual hunter of beauty. One of Paris’s most esteemed antiquarians once observed, “buying antiques is a form of hunting, and for those with an eye for beautiful objects we are always, “a la chasse,” on the hunt.  He went on to liken his life-long hunt for antiques to intelligence work he did for the French underground in World War II, “both endeavors have been exactly the same in that they involved uncovering the hidden, discovering the disappeared, for deciphering the secret.” I well understand the hunting metaphor and I know what it’s like to live with the anticipation that at any time I may walk into a room and discover a treasure where I least expect to find one.  The difference, however, is that while dealers and gallery owners are looking for themselves, I am looking for my clients.

 

If you know where to look, Paris is the most enjoyable and rewarding of hunting grounds.  But with the abundance of guidebooks, references and directories are there still secrets to be discovered?  Absolutely!   So far untapped is the wealth of information and expertise belonging to those of us for whom the Paris antiques market is a professional home.  If you are willing to , I will serve as your guide through the complex and mysterious terrain of insider trading by the experts.

 

My service is based on my belief that when coming to Paris to look for antiques you should look everywhere.  Depending on a client’s budget, I may take them to the most important dealers to provide “an education for their eye,” But good taste does not depend on how much money you spend. So, we’ll go to the left bank, go to auctions, go to the flea market and see what they like.  The goal is to find objects with spirit; they don’t have to be expensive or important –just pieces you want to live with.

 

Working from this philosophy, I will bring you to the posh galleries of Rue St. Honore and the Right Bank to the historic Carre Rive Gauche, the packed auction rooms at Drouot, the fantasy world of the Biennale, the teaming stalls of the Flea Market and some of the most secret wholesale warehouses in the world.

 

Beyond a tour of my hunting ground, I aim to create a dialogue by answering questions my clients have asked most frequently over the years.  There are tips regarding negotiating techniques, shipping items home, pitfalls to avoid, and behind the scenes descriptions of what makes the Paris antiques market a magnet for serious and professional antiques hunters from around the world.

 

The information gained spending a day with me will help hone your hunting skills for markets anywhere.  So much of this terrain is secretive, and its mystery is part of its allure, but there can be dangers and disappoints for the unsuspecting and I will tell you about some of them if you can keep a secret.  

 

 

 

Michael Andrew Wilson