Interview: Pascal Lemoine, La Maison du Roy - Booths 1 and 2 alley 5 Serpette
La Maison du Roy is a real invitation to travel through the time. Between Versailles and Venice of the 18th century, enter the world of this baroque and warm boudoir.
What is your background ?
Initially, I had a graphic design studio. So I am very familiar with the world of communication and especially the fields of cinema and theater. At the same time, I bought a lot of antiques. I love these objects so much that I ended up owning a bit too much. So I decided to take a booth in Flea Market, more than 20 years ago, to share my passion with amateurs.
Introduce us your stand
In my booth at Serpette are exhibited French and Italian Baroque objects from the 17th and 18th centuries. The taste I try to convey is not that of our grandparents' apartment. We are here in a much hotter aesthetic, closer to the Venetian universe and Versailles. This stand is inseparable from the Parisian shop of 24 passage Jouffroy in the 9th arrondissement, which was opened 12 years ago. In Paris, I present antiques, but also creations of artists with a baroque spirit. At the moment, there are many Christmas decorations. I want to give people the taste of a baroque revisited.
Why did you move to Paul Bert Serpette?
I wanted to be closer to the most active and central place. Paul Bert Serpette is at the heart of discovery and China. We have a lot of decorators, amateurs and foreign merchants coming here to hunt.
How do you envision the antique trade?
This job is my passion. All the items I sell are parts that I'll be able to keep. I never buy something because it's cheap. I do not make any connection between my purchase and the profit that I will draw. Of course, I do not forget the economic realities but I buy the object above all because I like it and that I want to transmit it. I will continue as long as I live to present this type of piece that fascinates me. Luckily maybe, I have many customers who have the same tastes as me and who have been coming regularly for 20 years. I am convinced that the merchants who present the classic still have a certain future ahead of them, because there are discoveries every day. What is fashionable is made to be out of fashion. It's a cycle. Regularly we make discoveries, worthy of museums and large collections.
What object do you want to highlight?
I have a large tabernacle Louis XVI. It is carved wood, gilded and lacquered, imitation marble decoration. In the shape of a classical building, it is surmounted by a dome surrounded by a gallery decorated with firepot. The gilded stucco facade represents the birth of Jesus and is embellished with four detached columns and two lateral niches. At the back, he opens by a small door.
I have it in Nice. It's an Italian play and since Nice belonged to Italy, I think this tabernacle has always stayed in this area.
The architectural aspect makes it an incredible piece. It's a real church in the church. I like the facade representing the birth of Jesus, it feels like a real theater scene.