HOW IT STARTED
Once I was in the Hague at the Mauritshuis, specialized in seventeenth century art. One of the masterpieces of the Mauritshuis is the famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated round 1665. Although probably it is not even a pearl and before, the painting was named “Girl with a turban”, fact is that this painting was sold in 1881 in an auction for only 2 guilders plus thirty cents commission. That story fascinated me. In May 2018 the story of a Chinese vase discovered in an old shoebox in a French attic had the same attraction to me. The vase has an idyllic landscape scenery with deer and cranes. It was made for the 18th century Quig dynasty emperor Qianlong, the guide price for its auction started between € 500.000,- and € 700.000,- euro. During the auction that estimated price was blown away, in the end the vase was sold for € 16,2 million! That’s how my fascination for TV formats such as “Tussen kunst en kitch” , “ Van onschatbare waarde” started but also more vulgar and very American “Pawn stars” and “Storage wars”.
TRIBUTE TO
My two uncles. Uncle Joost (who unfortunately passed away to soon) with his house full of jukeboxes, pin machines, chewing ball & candy machines, where we in our childhood got a bucket full of coins to play the machines for the whole afternoon. My uncle Emiel, who used to have an antique store in Voorschoten. My uncle, a self-taught man, no master in arts nor art history whatsoever, learned me the difference between plastic and stone, silk and polyester, a painting or a screen print, and -last but not least- true treasure or trash…..
That’s how my love for unique treasures started.
