StorieswithKritika

A scene from the Wednesday Antique Market in Camden Passage, Islington, London.

If the picture above hasn’t already given it away, this post is going to talk about Antique Markets! Unlike my previous posts, which have been quite heavy on the intersection of cultures, law and historic misappropriations, this one is pretty much just a recollection of one of my most cherished experiences while I was studying in the UK last year.

Leaving aside the cultural property lawyer aspect, I have been drawn to the antiquities and vintage…. well, everything ever since I was a kid. As a schoolgirl who devoured fiction and fantasy books at lightning speed, my first antique obsession was perhaps the typewriter. Now, I think it’s about everything!

I don’t know why there is such a fascination towards the antique and the vintage. Today it’s a fad, but I think perhaps it has always been a fad. I don’t know, maybe we just like the idea of romanticising the eras gone by and the tangible existence of it in actual items is equally fascinating, if not more.

Anyway, whatever the reason, studying in the UK simultaneously quenched this antiquity thirst of mine and lit a fire for a deeper fixation!

There was just something about walking between those stalls, strolling between relics on either side of you, in fact sometimes even the market venues were like relics themselves. The prettiest venue I visited in this market was the Laedenhall Market.

When I entered this red and green market with its arches, with the pubs lining its sides and the little vintage stalls with pins and artists, I was sold! and then Leadenhall turned out to be a Harry Potter filming location, that’s it, I just knew I would write about it somewhere someday.

Moving on from the beauty of Leadenhall! I will say that one of the most interesting moments during these visits was trying to talk to the antique vendors (let me tell you that some of them were so grumpy! I was definitely terrified of a few). I actually met and spoke to some lovely sellers who would be more than willing to talk about their antique item collections and they just loved that you had genuine interest. One time, met this really fun vendor in the Notting Hill Antique market-she clocked my garnet obsession within a minute of meeting me- they’re so sharp at reading people- I actually quite enjoyed that.

If you love just looking at things that feel like remainders of a lived life, these markets and stalls are for you! From old tea cups, coins/stamps, artworks, household decor to jewellery, Oh the amount of jewellery! you could feast your eyes upon everything. It’s honestly a great way to spend the day. Vintage and Antique markets were just everywhere- whether it was a trip you took to a small village after a 2-hour tube ride on the London underground or a day out in the most tourist friendly spots in the city centre. If you don’t know what to do, enter this bustle and you don’t even necessarily have to buy anything, just be there, that’s a great experience in itself.

I especially loved visiting these markets during the winter months. Every Monday from 9am to 5pm (I’m not sure of the timings now, but definitely ends at 5pm) the Jubilee Market behind Covent Garden transforms from a tourist market to a hall of antiquity- with brooches, mosaic pendants, old coins and many more such relics. The best part, grab yourself a cup of mulled wine from the Covent square and walk between those stalls- crisp air, yum spiced flavours and history all around you- Imagine actually enjoying yourself on a Monday! Wow, that’s practically a miracle!

One thing I learned though- If what you like is inside a glass box- forget it- it’s not for you if you’re a student in the UK. Those awfully tempting (mostly jewellery really) antiques, gilded in that glass box, are likely to break your bank! really! Except this one exception in Edinburgh, where this logic didn’t seem to apply. It’s luck sometimes, maybe! who knows.

Honestly, I can probably go on and on about this experience, but I think a better way is to really just show you some pictures here:

I just love pictures from these markets! Also, realised that I completely forgot to score some actual market pictures because I was so immersed in the moment. (I’ve asked my friends for some pics. Will add them once I receive them!). These pictures are from London, York and St. Ives in Cornwall but frankly most towns/cities across UK had their own versions of vintage and antique flea markets or arcades. Sometimes you could even spot a singular shop on the street that would very quietly announce itself once you peep through the window- I found those to be the best kind. Found one such gem in Edinburgh (Edinburgh had a quite a few scattered through the many different streets, the one I spotted was near the viral Milkman Cafe and open only for one day that week- talk about luck!)

It would be flat out lie if I said that I came back home empty handed. A person who curates their own jewellery collection and is mega fascinated by antiques not indulging in such a purchase- sounds unbelievable and so it is. Out of all things I’ve bought, my favourites are these two brooches I got from a local antique market hall in the town of Amershamand an Egyptian revival pendant from the Edinburgh shop.

As a country with a very rich historical past combined with the wealth acquisitions of its Empire, you can find anything and everything there- from Spanish damascene brooches, Bone China table wear, Middle Eastern jinn lamp decor to Egyptian revival jewellery and English Victorian originals/revivals. So obviously coming back empty handed was a chore for me. In the very famous words of Oscar Wilde – “I can resist everything but temptation.” That was me there. Honestly, my personal antique loving self and cultural property lawyer self was often in conflict in these markets.

I did wonder about the laws that drove the circulation of this market- what authenticity and provenance standards were there- I didn’t talk much about this with the vendors. At first, I was just so swayed by the experience of these markets itself that these questions became secondary. Now though, I regret not talking to more vendors. Sometimes I would ask them how they would get their own collections they were selling- most responded with auctions and then I would go and do a surface read what regulations applied to such markets. I have a feeling I will be writing papers on the antique and vintage market and laws as part of my legal journey. For now, though, this experience remains a beautiful part of my last year’s memories.

If you’ve ever been to these markets and want to share your experience, please feel free to mention it the comments. I would love that!

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Credits: The Leadenhall images are both taken from Wikimedia Commons. Pic 1 is uploaded by BaldBoris and authored by Aurelien and Pic 2 author is Deigo Delso Guichard under the license: https://creativecommons.org/lic