Flea Market Finds
by habituallychic
03 . 09 . 09
Between the time change and a busy weekend, I got a late start Sunday but I decided to stop by the Antiques Garage on 25th Street anyway. The early bird may get the worm but the late bird gets the bargains! I found some really great things including a first edition of Colour in my Garden by Louise Beebe Wilder from 1918 with beautiful color plates of her garden, and large first editions of Van Gogh and the Paintings of Rembrandt for $5 each. They were actually from the booth were I found the fabulous Greek Key china but they were packing up early so they will be the first place I hit next week!
I love checking out all the costume jewelry and am always picking up long gold necklaces. The first one with the disks was only $10. Then I found another long gold chain necklace with two decorative accents on each side for $7. The chain is notched and matches the chain of a necklace I found at the Brooklyn Flea with turquoise disks. I also collect drip glaze pottery so I found a slightly ugly but pretty to me vase to add to my collection. It is marked 745 on the bottom and a little internet research revealed that it is a Brush-McCoy Pottery Onyx Bud Vase c. 1910-1930.
My favorite find was the Chinese blue and white lidded pot. I was told it was 19th-century and appears to be old but who knows if they were truthful. My research found that it is called a Kamcheng jar with lion dog (fu) finial and was used to store food. If anyone has any additional information, please feel free to share.
I went to the flea market to look for props for an up coming photo shoot and the Van Gogh and Rembrandt books will be perfect but it looks like I will have to go back next week to more objects for styling. Stay tuned in the coming weeks to hear all about it!
21 Comments
Flea Markets are my passion and even in Vancouver I could find some jewels in the junk.
Actually my very first Post was talking about one of my most treasured findings and my last one is talking about French Flea Markets.
Coincidence or same taste for beautiful things with a past.
Great finds! I really love the necklaces and the Color in my Garden book. Would love to see some pics of what the color plates look like.
ooooh! so jealous of your art book finds. i too love flea markets. i love digging through other people’s old treasures! great finds….:)
I love a good tease. So I can’t wait to see what these props are going to be used for in styling.
I’ll have to make a trip to the Antique’s Garage soon. I went a couple of weeks ago and it was so cold that there weren’t many vendors so I didn’t really had any luck.
The antique garden book really piques my interest too!
I can’t never find enough of them!
In one of my older ones, I found the info that the flowers impatiens are named that way because of the little seed pods that explode their seeds when slightly touched…(Hence they are impatient ..LOL) I never even knew they had seeds! I went out side and sure enough… there they were!… after they pop they leave a little shell all curled up, but getting back to the books Great finds!
~Vanessa
HC – I was raised browsing thru and selling at flea markets on the weekends. I do hope you have the gift of haggling…it makes the experience even more interesting and quite often you can get the item for a lot less.
i love the whole mess
Heather, what fab treasures you scored! The gardening book alone is amazing — I am desperate to see inside it — and I can’t believe you got the necklaces for so cheap. The pot, too, is tres covetable. Congratulations!
Fabulous finds! The necklaces are my favorite.
i think that the pot is not nearly as old as you were led to believe. the reason is because the pattern is more ‘modern’. it may not even be chinese. asian patterns are more symmetrical,or tend to be like that.
(i just did a look through for the “kamcheng” jar, and it indicates that it is Singaporean, not chinese, thus affirming my initial thought).
for my money, i think this is something that is more like a pearl river (cheap imports from china with an ‘orientalist’/tourist oriented store in new york for Chic folk not in nyc). maybe a purchase where the original buyer went to singapore and picked up something ‘cute’ for a few dollars.
but that is just a guess without looking closer. i believe i am right, though.
Great finds!
I love picking something up and unraveling its identity when I get home!
Oh great finds! I LOVE a deal 🙂
Hi Heather,
I’m Singaporean and would like to add to what tyler said- the term “kamcheng” is indeed from Singapore or Malaysia. However, real “kamcheng” wares predominantly comes in shades of green, yellow, pink and are quite valuable or even family heirlooms. I agree that this is probably just a fake-old manufactured in China. If you so a search on the internet, add “Peranakan” or “Nonya” and you should be able to see pictures of the traditional kamcheng.
Hi there,
I am in Singapore and love Kamchengs and do know a little about them. If you’re very keen, look at the book by Ho Wing Meng called ‘Straits Chinese Porcelain: A Collector’s Guide’. While someone pointed out earlier that Kamchengs were generally coloured (Malaccan green, Penang green [lime green], yellow and pink), the blue and whites were specifically used during periods of mourning. (Note: Peranakans were a hybrid community of Chinese and Malay parentage; they did not always follow Chinese customs etc)
I do believe your piece is not that old, though I must add than a blue and white kamcheng, even in repro, is not very common. I just hope you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for it.
Could you take a photograph of the stamp underneath the jar? That might help decipher the period.
Great finds!! Love the all of it!
I’ve been to this garage sale before and I loved it. It’s such a great place to find great stuff.
Great shopping! Sounds as if you had fun. Love the vintage books — good for you for recognizing what a find they are.
Heather – I am a huge fan of yours. Good to see how busy you are these days! Things ALWAYS happen for a reason. Some day you should come out to San Francisco and go to the Alameda Antiques Show (flea market!. First Sunday of every month. It rocks.
Brillante Home Decor – I’ve never been to a French flea market. I’m going to have to put that on my to do list!
Dagny – I love buying vintage necklaces. They are really easy to find. I will have to see what I can do about posting the plates. I was thinking about selling that book if anyone wants to make me an offer!
Avant Garde – I’m always surprised how much great stuff is out there just waiting to be discovered!
High Heeled – I’m scouring ebay, flea markets and thrift shops for props. I can’t wait to tell you all what it’s about!
Garden Designer/Vanessa – I always wondered where the name Impatiens came from. What a fun story!
Susan – I haggle now and then but some things are so cheap that I actually feel bad trying to pay less!
Lisa – When you come to NYC, we’ll hae to hit all the flea markets! You’ll love them!
Paloma – I actually have to stop myself from buying more necklaces. I have an addiction!
Tyler – The reason I bought it was because it wasn’t like anything at Pearl River. Everything there tends to look very new and although this may not be that old, it looks much much older than anything at Pearl River. This link, http://www.maritimeasia.ws/desaru/ceramics.html, shows another jar just like mine under #25 called a Guan covered jar or kamcheng.
Sparker – I’m glad I know what the little vase is so I can find matching pieces.
Stefan/Architect Design – they were great deals!
Anne – I am glad a bought it because I love the old patina so it doesn’t matter if it’s “fake” or not.
DS – I appreciate the information. There is no marking on the bottom. As I mentioned above, this link http://www.maritimeasia.ws/desaru/ceramics.html, shows one exactly like mine under #25. I don’t know what that means.
Porter Hovey – thank goodness I found a taxi easier than Hollister after her last blue and white pottery buying trip!
Belle – the garage is more convenient for me that the outdoor flea market so I enjoy this one more!
Cathy – I LOVE vintage books but I am running out of space so I really need to stop!
Kathleen – I want to plan a trip to LA and SF so maybe I will have to make sure I am there for the flea market! And that I bring an empty suitcase!
can’t wait to see the photo shoot you are propping out! did you see my 2 for $2 blue and white pots from walgreens? yours looks waaaay more authentic, but hey in a photo, walgreens blue and white looks pretty authentic too…
oxoxo-
c.
I love flea markets. I live in Washington state and try to make it to California as often as possible (Alameda rocks). I’m with m21….can’t wait to see the photo shoot!
Carol
What lovely finds!