Exploring Athens’ Timeless Treasures at Monastiraki

“You can’t miss the Martinos Antique and good creation assemblage – it’s a communicative successful itself,” says collector and writer Dimitris Xanthoulis arsenic we discuss athenian antique shops and Monastiraki’s bustling Sunday flea market, and marque plans to sojourn the bustling bazaar that springs to beingness successful AvYssinias quadrate and its contiguous surroundings each Sunday morning.

Martinos Antique and Fine Art Gallery, a landmark which, since 1894, has been entwined with Athens’ municipality transformation, is unquestionably the cleanable spot to commencement this travel done time. However, it’s not that adjacent to Avyssinias Square and, moreover, it’s closed connected Sundays. “We’ll request 2 days,” Xanthoulis declares, and truthful we put to conscionable archetypal connected Saturday greeting astatine 50 Pandrossou Street.

Standing earlier the elegant three-story pre-war gathering that has housed the store since 1926, we instrumentality successful the striking facades designed by Takis Zenetos, 1 of Greece’s astir celebrated postwar modernist architects. What I spot done the store model reminds maine of a furniture de curiosités: intricately adorned chests stacked with precision, 18th-century English silverware, accepted Skyrian chairs, and lithographs depicting Greek themes. There are besides exquisite necklaces and belts from Macedonian and Attic costumes, and embroideries from the Cyclades and Epirus. Nineteenth-century metallic pistols are elegantly displayed successful built-in showcases; Oriental rugs and Italian modernist chandeliers adhd to the eclectic, timeless charm of this treasure trove of creation and history.

Wherever we look, we’re greeted by antithetic eras. Every entity present serves arsenic a reminder that dilatory surviving is not a modern conception – it’s a mode of beingness we’ve simply rediscovered, reviving aged habits and forgotten crafts. Each portion successful this shop, sourced from divers countries, periods and traditions, shares a communal thread: the meticulous attraction and passionateness with which radical erstwhile tended to adjacent the simplest aspects of regular life.

As I inquire questions astir antique metallic buttons and opaline vases, my companion’s attraction is caught by an 18th-century Italian h2o jug and a low, quadrate array with a ceramic apical by Eleni Vernardaki, Greece’s astir important modern ceramicist. “These days, I’m lone funny successful post-war Athenian ceramics and the works of Ira Triantafyllidi,” helium says, adjacent arsenic helium picks up the jug.

I inquire Xanthoulis if he’s ever tempted to get thing extracurricular the scope of his collection, specified arsenic the point he’s holding.

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“All the time! A collector’s ever tempted, particularly successful a store similar this, wherever you’re surrounded by passionateness and expertise,” helium says with a grin. “But you person to beryllium cautious – abstraction and wealth are ever successful abbreviated supply.”

We measurement extracurricular and statesman walking down the street, and I inquire him however helium archetypal got into collecting.

“Honestly, I can’t retrieve anymore. I’ve ever had a emotion for objects,” helium says. “At first, I’d bargain thing that caught my oculus – glassware, tableware, silver, adjacent immoderate furniture. But implicit time, I’ve honed my absorption to precise circumstantial items.”

And what astir mistakes? How does 1 debar them? “You can’t,” Xanthoulis says, smiling. “All collectors marque mistakes. You upwind up truly regretting immoderate of your purchases, but the adjacent week you’re backmost astatine it, crouched implicit stalls, looking for more.”

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We put our adjacent gathering for 8 o’clock the pursuing greeting successful Avyssinias Square. I get the consciousness he’s anxious to portion ways for now, offering a polite excuse astir not wanting to “ruin” my Saturday. The adjacent morning, that suspicion is confirmed; collectors, it seems, treasure the solitude of their pursuit.

On the prowl

I get astatine the quadrate earlier than expected. From a distance, I spot Xanthoulis – already there, scanning the scene. He tells maine he’s been present since dawn. For him, the Monastiraki flea marketplace is simply a ineffable Sunday ritual, 1 helium ne'er misses erstwhile successful Athens.

“I commencement connected ft from my location successful Syntagma and marque my mode to Monastiraki via Mitropoleos Street,” helium says. “Along the way, I tally into different collectors. We speech greetings, stock news, and often get present earlier the sellers adjacent acceptable retired their wares. Then, each of america goes our abstracted way.”

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I glimpse around, feeling some captivated and overwhelmed. Everything present looks extraordinary, yet utterly ordinary. How does 1 navigate this maze of objects? Xanthoulis, however, seems wholly astatine ease. He thrives successful the vigor of the marketplace – the voices, the sights, the playful banter. Goethe erstwhile said that collectors are happiest erstwhile they’re successful their element; here, that sentiment is palpable.

It rapidly becomes wide that this spot holds everything: banknotes from the Occupation; tin artifact trains from the ’50s; silverware; Danish eating chairs; wristwatches; gramophones; Viennese porcelain; woven rugs; ICARO ceramics; embroidery; a achromatic leather armchair by Joe Colombo; 18th-century carved woody mirrors; Rafaella Carrà records; and reproductions of Alekos Fassianos paintings.

How bash you cognize if thing is genuinely valuable?

“You don’t cognize astatine first,” my companion says, moving swiftly from 1 vendor to the next. “Your oculus gets amended implicit time. Things I walked past for years without noticing – I tin spot them now.”

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He slips into the constrictive alleys, and I astir suffer show of him wholly – until the vendors, spotting him, statesman calling his name, anxious to amusement him thing they deliberation mightiness drawback his eye.

“What is Monastiraki, really?” I ask. “Hidden treasures buried successful the mud, oregon conscionable the forgettable wares of modern-day hawkers?”

“Monastiraki is Athens’ backmost doorway – the gateway to different world,” helium says, stopping astatine a stall. He asks astir the terms of a tiny ceramic vase, 1 with an representation of Mickey Mouse holding a Greek flag.

The bargaining begins. “Haggling is portion of the ritual,” helium says. “The vendors thrive connected it; it’s what they look guardant to.”

I wonderment aloud however often helium feels genuinely thrilled by a purchase.

“Not precise often anymore,” helium admits. “Sometimes, erstwhile thing truly catches my eye, I’ll bargain for thing trivial – conscionable a random trinket – to fulfill the itch to bargain something. Then I support wandering aimlessly. It’s similar a bug, an obsession.”

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What proposal would helium springiness to a visitant oregon a beginner collector?

“First, fig retired what interests you,” helium says. “Take your clip exploring Monastiraki, and ever haggle. Make your connection and clasp firm. But astir importantly, recognize wherever you are. You won’t find past pieces present – the oldest items day backmost to the precocious 18th century.”

He explains that good objects from expansive homes successful cities similar Athens oregon Thessaloniki were scarce successful past centuries. Wealthy families were few, and erstwhile wealth did exist, it was typically spent connected much applicable concerns. “They needed to grow their landholdings oregon supply dowries for their children. As a result, costly objects – particularly those of overseas root – were exceedingly rare.”

“The Greek bourgeoisie developed precise otherwise from its European counterparts,” helium continues. “We were – and inactive are – a comparatively mediocre country. But Monastiraki is the cleanable spot for anyone seeking tangible remnants of Greek history, creation and tradition.”