Now things are almost dead. They are not used, but consumed. Only prolonged use gives things a soul.
Byung-Chul Han. Non-Things.
As has become a family tradition, Ricardo Pizarro and his son Cristóbal traveled to France in May of this year to bring a container of incredible antiques to the country. Yes! A container of incredible antiques to delight our community of vintage lovers. Do you know how long we've been bringing pieces from France?
We've been traveling to France for 16 years, almost nonstop, to import antiques. At one point, we transported three containers a year. Cristóbal explains, while coordinating order shipments after the last Bucharest Art Live. on social media. Years of a tradition that goes way beyond just going shopping and returning. Everything is part of a ritual. From the trip itself, the accommodations, the stops, the reunion with lifelong friends, the auctions at auction houses, the visits to local markets, and finally the entire process of bringing the acquired pieces back to Chile.
In a world where things lack meaning beyond immediate consumption, dedicating oneself to recovering pieces from the past and creating the perfect conditions to give them new life is an act of resistance. It's the adventure of searching among warehouses of faded colors and aromas of the past for those unique objects that stand out to the trained eye of antique dealers, who, with a precision borne of decades of experience, know how to recognize what will delight the Bucharest Art showcases.
But what do these journeys consist of? Today, through the voices of their protagonists, we'll take you on a journey to acquire our beautiful relics from bygone eras. From the moment they leave French wineries until they arrive in our beloved Bucharest Art.
Origin of the Route to El Dorado in the Old Continent
It all started between 2008-2009 when Ricardo traveled to France for business and while there, in the company of his great Chilean friend living in France, Manuel Instead of returning to Chile immediately, Ramos decided to go to one of the classic French auction houses to invest the money from his business in antiques and bring them back to Chile. When he arrived at the auction houses, he realized he had discovered a treasure: wonderful places where antiques were sold at such low prices that he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Let's just say he bought everything he could, so much so that he filled Manuel's house with antique pieces. Upon returning to Chile, dazzled by such a discovery, he decided to travel again, this time accompanied by his son Cristóbal and his partner and friend Osvaldo. He needed them to see with their own eyes what was in those auction houses. They toured warehouses and attended countless auctions, moving around the city as if they were locals, always guided by Ricardo, who, despite having lived in Chile for years, moved around France like Peter did at home. They stayed at their dear friend Manuel's house again, but this time they had purchased more items, so they had to find a container outside Manuel's house to load it and bring it to Chile. Osvaldo Yáñez, an antique dealer at Bucharest Art, remembers that trip and the vast difference between the two countries: "Here in Chile, you can find one auction a month; there (in France), you have 16 auctions in a day in Paris alone. It's crazy, and one more incredible than the other." And so it all began. The first container was filled to capacity (approximately 76 m²) and brought to Chile.
Apparently it was never an individual project…
Manuel Ramos, a close friend of Ricardo's, refers to him as a person known and appreciated for his work and vision of antiques, but also for his generosity to those around him and beyond: "What I always heard Ricardo say was that his intention was to create an antiques market, where he was based, on Bucarest Street. So after making the first container shipment, he started inviting his antique dealer friends and explained to them how everything should be done... and of course, I started hosting them ," Manuel proudly recalls.
Ricardo has always had this spirit of camaraderie with those around him. For him, knowledge is shared with all who wish to receive it; one should not be stingy with knowledge. That's why, when he discovered this new method of accessing antiques and mapped the process, he couldn't help but tell his antiquarian friends about it and invite them to travel with him to show them the El Dorado of the Old Continent . And that's how he showed them the auction houses and introduced them to Manuel, who over time became the official host of Chilean antique dealers who, to this day, arrive here dated by Ricardo.
Now a little about the 2025 trip.
As we mentioned earlier, it was in May of this year that Ricardo and his son Cristóbal traveled to Chile to make a new purchase of antique pieces. The Bucharest family had had bad experiences importing the pieces into the country because, as they humbly admit, they hadn't updated their protocols for declaring the items they brought in. Years ago, one would declare "a batch of glasses" or "a batch of cups," but now that's not the case. Customs is very strict, and you must enter the exact number of glasses, cutlery, vases, etc. And until January of this year, we continued doing things the same way we did before. Cristóbal comments, recalling with great regret how horrifying it was to witness them appraising them (opening the container and searching it) and inspecting the items without any concern for them. They destroyed furniture, marble, everything without any remorse, because for them, it was just another inspection. The helplessness of witnessing such a completely avoidable event, with a little more internal order, was so great that for this trip they decided to create a much more efficient and meticulous system when declaring and packing the pieces.
And that's how we arrived at this day, with everything in our warehouses, in excellent condition, ready to be presented in our website catalog, on social media, and in stores. As you can read in this brief account, nothing is as simple as it seems. The journey is beautiful, admirable, and worthy of applause, because each step reflects the passion and profound love behind the beloved Bucharest Art. Because for many, it is something more transcendent than a commercial store; it is a unique universe to be discovered and shared with whoever visits it.
Today we wanted you to appreciate the magic behind the antique dealer's craft... They possess the gift of foresight. They take that piece that has reached the end of its cycle and grant it the possibility of being reborn in a new history and a new time. We must once again marvel and surround ourselves with timeless beauty that delights our souls. The invitation is to continue marveling when a piece from the past knocks on our door.
