Tongeren Antique Market

I was looking forward to the oft-lauded Tongeren Antique Market, but my first visit there with Julee and Amanda exceeded ALL expectations. The sunrise, the company, the vendors, the selection, the final haul—all better than I pictured or imagined.

Tongeren is well known as the place where antique dealers come to get stuff for their shops and designers get antiques for clients. I’ve been to antique markets all over the world, and I’d agree Tongeren has a great selection at a great price point. The only problem is it’s about an hour from Brussels and only runs Sunday mornings.

The three of us left before dawn. The entire hour-long drive there, the sun hovered at the horizon. Golden pink and orange clouds streaked the soft blue of the morning sky. Winter crops glistened like peridots in the rare Belgian sunlight. I sipped my lucky green travel mug of English breakfast tea in the back seat while we zipped through empty lanes and freeways, like we were the only people in the world.

Considering the amount of rain we got over the past week, I can’t believe we had such nice weather. It was cold and windy of course, but persistently sunny.

The market is laid out like this: a central parking garage and warehouse across the street are filled with antique vendors and their wares. The street between and all around them are lined with vendors as well. I did not buy anything from inside the garage or warehouse—items were more expensive, and cleaned up and in better shape maybe. There were more small items inside. The market opens early—it was hopping when we arrived at 8am, was crowded by 11am, and completely closes by 1pm. There are also many antique shops around the area.

We parked by the Tongeren train station and walked up the street to the market, stopping at an ATM for cash. Amanda was on the hunt for a card catalogue cabinet. Julee was looking for a mirror to go in her entryway. I had a few things in mind: I’d really like a marbled-topped bistro table—what could feel more café culture than that? That would be one way to bring a pleasant part of Europe with us where ever we move next. Another thing I to keep an eye out for: a demi jean, one of those big, mouth-blown glass wine jugs. Americans (or everyone?) rave over these. I don’t get it—what do you do with them? I don’t want to put wine corks or anything in it. But maybe if I found just the right one to coordinate with my Japanese fishing float, it would make sense. Antique scales are another thing lots of Americans get. Enough of my friends display items in them adorably that now I want one too, but only if it’s in a beautiful color with the copper weighing bowls. I decided to be very disciplined and try hard NOT to buy any more maps or ship paintings.

We began strolling. Teacup and plates. An old ship bell attached to an old crumbling beam. Wall-mounting wine screws. Tables of every size. Old shelves and ladders. Anything you can imagine in copper: jam pots, huge stew pots, tea pots, coffee pots, water pitchers, small pots, umbrella stands, nesting sauce pans and sauté pans, bells in the shape of shepherdesses, you name it! Creepy old dolls. Snow drops. Stacks of suitcases. Piles of linens. Records and old record players. Books, albums, letters, stamps, coins, currency, etchings, paintings, drawings. Glassware. Beer everything: enamel signs, trays, glasses, wooden crates. Wine crates and barrels. Wire potato baskets. Egg baskets. Porcelain figurines. Lamps and candle holders. Taxidermy everything: ferrets, a boar’s head, foxes, mice, birds, baby ducks (!!), antlers. War stuff: helmets, shells, trench art, daggers, uniform pieces. Hardware and spare chandelier parts.

Several stands only sold old tools. “Who would want to buy an old hammer?” I thought to myself, picking up a tiny one. The unfinished wood was extremely well-balanced and worn smooth and satiny by years of use. I fell in love. Mallets, chisels, hammers of all sizes, hand-made screwdrivers, hand saws, loads of things I don’t recognize. I didn’t buy anything because they weren’t particularly cheap, but nice old tools is something I will keep an eye out for in the future.

I found Amanda a card catalogue. Amanda and Julee found me a bistro table. When I saw it, I almost heard angels singing. AAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhh! Everything about it was perfect, from the glossy, unstained white top to the cast iron table base. So beautiful!

Then Amanda and I both bought printer trays. Someday, in our future library or map room or study or something I’m going to have shelves and shelves of books, plus a curio cabinet for some of the historically interesting pieces Chris and I have found at markets over the years, plus maps and stuff floor to ceiling, like in our old Florida house. I hope to have a dedicated (custom?) display space for my SAND COLLECTION, possibly next to a map where all represented beaches are marked, and nearby, seashells separated nicely into size-appropriate spots in the printer tray. Printer trays are from old printing presses, where cabinets of these trays filled with different fonts and different languages stood ready to be put to use in the paper or book-printing work of the day. They’re pretty easy to find, and these were nice ones—not mildewed, solid frames, nice handles, interesting shapes, great price.

I also spotted a demi jean that wasn’t too huge and was the same color as my Japanese fishing float. But it seemed so troublesome to lug it around, I only halfheartedly asked if he’d take it for 10 euros off the marked price. He said five euros. I shrugged and walked off and he said ok, 10 off, so I had to buy it. I’m glad I did—I still don’t know what I’m going to do with it, but it’s really pretty in my house! I took it over to the printer tray seller and he said I could leave it with my other stuff.

What’s nice is that most places will hold any large or ungainly purchases until the end of the market. We left the cabinet, bistro table, demi jean and printer trays with the sellers and collected them all at 1pm when the market closed. The sellers have to be packed up by a certain time or they’ll get fined, so don’t be late!

Other things I bought: a copper thing with original hand-painted porcelain handles and cute little claw feet (I have no idea what this is or what I’m going to do with it—right now the kids’ Valentine candy is sitting in it), a gasp-worthy leather and canvas mini suitcase that is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and something I’ve been looking for for years, an inexpensive marble table that feels kind of art deco to me, and an aqua enamel bucket.

I feel like the best souvenirs bring back the feeling of a place while you’re going about your daily life: my vintage cheese slicer from Luxembourg, antique silver tea spoons from Paris, a tea tray from Japan, an umbrella from Brussels, olive oil from Greece. A pretty bucket seems to fall into that category, as well as—maybe next time—a well-worn hammer!