Collector Michael Perchenko reminisces about flea markets

[Евгений]

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Perchenko - one of the first Russian collectors who have been methodically and consistently collect old Western European art. Today, he recalls the blissful days when significant things can still be bought even at flea markets.
My main entertainment with the twelve years was a visit to an antique shop on Old Arbat, where all major Moscow art collectors. There I met wonderful people: Felix Wisniewski, Abram Schuster, and they taught me to collecting.
The first fifteen years I have been collecting glass and porcelain collected Russian painting - I had Tropinin Bryullov, Argun, Venetsianov. Then there was a huge collection of miniatures and furniture of the XVIII century. All this I then sold three units. Then eight years collecting East. But when I realized that I did not have enough life to understand the dating of objects, I left this occupation and switched to Western art, which also collecting for 25 years. Mostly, I'm interested in the art of Northern Gothic and Renaissance - Netherlands primitives XV-XVI centuries and wooden sculpture XIII-XVI centuries. Sculpture of the XVII century I have no interest. I have a "Saint Anne and the Virgin Mary with Child» XIII century, performed in the Meuse region, there is a big retabl, painted wooden altar of the Antwerp school of the early decades of the XVI century, a sculpture studio Tilman Riemenschneider.

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Of Curiosities (there were not many), coupled with unexpected purchases, remember the case in the Paris flea market Klinyankur in late 1980 - early 1990's. Every Friday at five o'clock in the morning there came to Roma. They brought everything they could to gather in small towns and villages: from furniture to art. From five to eight public did not sell - it was time dealers. I remember I started looking and found the etchings etching by Dürer A4 size for some 200 francs. Now he is no less than 150 thousand dollars.

Of course, today at flea markets to find nothing is impossible. I go only to their suppliers. They also drive a, and students of Moscow Institute of art and antiques business, where he lectured on the history of collecting and Western European markets. In one of these trips, I showed them how to work the most interesting from my point of view, the auction house - Paris Drouot. That can be found at the auction just one day? Then I found the original German design of the XVI century (1000 euros) and two earthenware sculpture of Alexander I of England! Still, France - a loft in Europe. There was too much'll take, so some things (not core) can still be bought at Drouot.

The last remarkable product Niemi, sold at this auction was the work of Velazquez neatributirovannaya with the estimate of 600 to 800 000 francs, I bought my friend the Frenchman twelve years ago. He thought that would be the only one who recognizes the brilliant fabric and buys it on the cheap. But these wise men was more than a hundred, and the price of work has grown to 4.5 million dollars! My mate has laid her own gallery, but still bought it, "Velazquez", intending to sell it at Sotheby's (and the buyer was already at 7 million dollars!). But nothing happened. Directors of large museums have written the letter, which Sotheby's has no right to attribute Velazquez. As a result, cloth was sold, my friend was unable to give the bank the money and went bankrupt.

I personally prefer the auction is not binding. Good thing there are millions. But the same thing I buy from their suppliers to ten times cheaper. For example, I offer an Italian study of the XVII century for 15,000 euros. Really I can buy it for 12,000, but do not buy because I do not need. Then the owner of the office puts it at Sotheby's. There he sold for 110,000 pounds, or about 15 times more expensive! Auctions - is a terrible thing, especially large ones, such as Sotheby's and Christie's. I will not buy from them anything directly, only through dealers. Thus, sometimes managed to get the auction masterpieces for a penny. True, there is only two times in my life.

One case occurred four years ago at Sotheby's, where they sold dubious Raphael. It so happened that next to him, very obliquely, hanged tricuspid triptych great Netherlander Jean Belgamba. The audience ran to Rafael by Belgamba. If anyone had paused in front of Belgambom for five minutes, it would have realized that before him was a masterpiece. Then I did not even make an application to the triptych, thinking that the price for it comes at an auction to a half million. Not reached. My supplier bought it for 55,000 euros and sold it to me with a ten percent premium.

At other times, through its dealer I went to a Belgian notary, who had a whole collection of sculptures (by the way he should he the collection and collected). With the dealer we were familiar fifteen years, and all the time, he teased me with this collection. So one of my visits to Belgium, for six hours prior to departure from Brussels to Moscow, a provider called and said that the collection is sold, and offered it to look. We immediately went to Bruges, where I once bought a twenty sculptures. The owner reduced the price three times from the original. He did it because he had sold everything in one hand. Although he was about fifty heirs - three children, twenty grandchildren, thirty grandchildren, but none of them wanted to continue his work.

The same thing is happening now and the legacy of Professor Goldschmidt, whose collection of sculpture is the second in the world. He died six years ago, and now the family decided to sell his collection. Either children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren do not need it. I wanted something to buy, but prices are up so much, that does not even come close. When he was alive, Goldschmidt, I agreed with him about buying things for 30-50 million dollars. And now the heirs of a triptych sold for half a million.

Prices for a sculpture for twenty-five years have risen on average a hundred times. If the first thing I bought for 8-10 thousand dollars, but today the cost of similar products reaches up to 4 million euros. At a recent Sotheby's soccer player Pierre Littbarski - the third in the world for the collector of antique sculpture - bought Virgin Tilman Riemenschneider, precisely because of such amount.
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