It’s King’s Day and that means a big free market. Among the many children’s items, there may be hidden gems. But how do you find it now? Art connoisseur Dries Pruis walks around the flea market in Assen.
“Sometimes it happens that you come across something really beautiful at a flea market or in a thrift store. That sometimes happens,” says Dries Pruis. But what does the art connoisseur look for when recognizing really valuable things and knick-knacks? “It’s difficult. There’s a lot of kitsch and art. That distinction is very vague. It’s a matter of taste. Kitsch is imitation art. So if you have a Rembrandt hanging on the wall, that’s kitsch. Even things with frills it is kitsch. Art is what gives you experience and feeling.” There is no concrete answer.
Really finding a gem on such a free market is difficult, says Pruis. “Still, you sometimes come across things, but often they are antiques. I actually have little knowledge of that. I did once buy a copper iron for ten guilders and it is worth a lot. It is one hundred and fifty years old. So it is possible.”
At the flea market he stops at paintings, an old teapot and a coffee grinder. Occasionally he asks the price. “The price is low,” he says. Pruis stops at an old iron. “Five euros, no money, huh?”, he says. “That could be more. But it’s for the enthusiast, isn’t it? That’s the problem. For someone else it’s a piece of old iron.”
In Assen there are mainly children with parents behind their rugs. There are many children’s toys, bottles and clothing on the rugs. Here and there there are people with food, drinks and grab bags that everyone can go to. “At a number of stalls you see nice things,” says Pruis. “But in general it’s a lot of knick-knacks and toys. That’s what the flea market is for, isn’t it? Then you can clean up your attic. And that’s why the prices are so low?” The free market in Assen is a busy, fun and cozy market, Pruis concludes, but there is little art to be seen. We may have to go to a gallery for that.