Le Truc to Antique Auctions in France

This Wednesday morning we were up and out of the house bright and early to catch an auction we had decided to attend in order to buy some trucs for the upcoming brocante season.  Unfortunately at this particular Vente aux Enchères in the historic town of Angoulême you are only permitted half and hour before the sale to view the myriad of lots on offer.     

The tables are laden with random objects that have no lot numbers  

When we arrived we pushed the heavy door of the saleroom open to find the place crammed with people struggling to view the lots.   For the next twenty minutes or so it helps if you are feeling strong as it mainly consists of being pushed around the crowded room by lots of little old men.  I have to confess that this was not my idea of fun but I was determined to hold my own and dived right in.

Over the years I have attended many auctions in England and France but I have to say that this particular one is especially challenging as there are no lot numbers and no auction catalogue.  This kind of sale is known as a Vente Courante which is a General Sale that mainly deals with trucs from deceased estates and house clearances.

Being of a rather wimpy disposition and prone to dizzy spells if I stand for too long I have found that the best thing to do once the alarming experience of the viewing is over is to find a comfortable chair somewhere in the middle of the room and settle down in the hope of standing half a chance of seeing what's going on once the sale kicks off.  

The room turned towards the auctioneer who has begun his random rummage! 

The room became hushed as the auctioneer made his way to a hitherto undisclosed part of the saleroom and picked up the first lot.  At this pivotal moment the crowd surged forward in a wave and in the process completely blocked my view from the aforementioned comfy chair!

With much reluctance I gave up on the chair and moved to the outer edges of the room for a better view. The auctioneer proceeded to discuss the object (chosen on what can only be described as a whim) with one of his colleagues (at great length I may add!) which led me to believe (I could be mistaken!) that he had never clapped his eyes on the object before!

It was at this point in the proceedings that it became painfully clear to me that we were all in for a very long morning.

Some trucs that may or may not (auctioneers discretion) be sold in group lots

Another quirk I have noticed concerning provincial French auction rooms is that you are not provided with a bidding paddle or number before the sale.  The accepted protocol is that once you have made your first successful bid you are required to hand over a signed blank cheque.

Having lived in London for much of my adult life and therefore cultivated a healthy mistrust of human nature the ordeal of handing a complete stranger a signed blank cheque is naturally a nail-biting moment for me.   However, I have also lived in France for the last 10 years so I have come to accept the system (albeit reluctantly).  I am happy to say that I no longer feel compelled to stare mistrustfully at the holder of the cheque for those usual telltale signs of villainy such as moustache twiddling or evil sniggering from behind a long black cape.

The dilemma I now face is assuming I am actually able to see the lot being offered for sale and do, by some miracle, win a bid I am then trapped in the saleroom for the duration. This means that if the auctioneer decides, in his infinite wisdom, to auction 15 cases of wine by the individual bottle I am, in effect, a virtual prisoner until the ordeal is over (they have my cheque... ahhhhh!)

All things considered, having looked around the room and the faced the possibility of waiting for the next three hours for lots that I probably wouldn't get anyway, I took action and did the only thing a hardened antique dealer could do in this situation. I snuck out of the saleroom on about Lot 16 and suggested to my husband, Spike, that we find somewhere nice for lunch!

In all fairness I must stress that I have been lucky enough to attend numerous fine art and antique auctions since living in France and have found them to be a wonderfully catalogued and organised.

Since this experience I am looking forward to, more than ever, my imminent trip back to England in March and can hardly wait to find myself in the familiar surroundings of an English auction room enjoying the security of clutching a heavily annotated catalogue consisting of numbered lots having had the luxury of rummaging through all the interesting trucs on offer the day before the sale.

You know what they say about best laid plans... I will keep you posted on how that goes soon!