Puces Portrait: Laurence Vauclair & Denis Rouquette
Reviving 19th-century ceramics and rattan furniture in Saint-Ouen and Paris, with stands that conjure the extravagant spirit of a winter garden.
In the Marché Paul Bert, Laurence Vauclair’s stand unfolds like a carefully staged set: rattan armchairs spill onto the pavement, glazed barbotine and Majolica shimmers in the light, monumental Massier vases and Palissy plates are displayed in exuberant profusion. Alongside her husband Denis Rouquette, Laurence has built a flourishing business, moving effortlessly between the improvised poetry of the Puces and the more conventional elegance of her Parisian gallery in the Carré Saint-Germain district. A member of the CNES and the Syndicat National des Antiquaires, she became an official expert in 2002 and has played a pivotal role in bringing these once-overlooked treasures back into the light. Always on the move – welcoming clients, mentoring assistants, researching forgotten works, hosting parties – she combines encyclopaedic knowledge of Majolica and 19th-century ceramics with an infectious warmth and generosity that draws everyone into her world.
This edited interview is taken from The Paris Flea Market (Prestel, 2024), a book that draws back the curtain on this remarkable place through encounters with a handful of the dealers at its heart.
