Rug buying in Liège (centre)

Damp and water

Floods on the night of 14 to 15 July 2021. Within the territory of the City of Liège alone: 13,780 people affected, spread across the districts of Jupille, Chênée and Angleur (L'Avenir adds Outremeuse); 4,848 buildings hit, that is 6,556 homes and 350 shops or professional practices; the water rose 1 to 1.80 m in homes and businesses; Angleur is the worst affected, with some forty streets. More than 40,000 m³ of waste removed, 2,500 vehicles destroyed, 35 km of roads damaged, 7 km of them severely. Five years on, the City is preparing a 7.5-hectare temporary flood storage area at Chênée, costed at €50 million.

A rug left in a damp cellar is not a worthless rug. Do not throw it away before showing it to us: we also buy as it is.

The rug market

The marché de la Batte is held every Sunday from 8.00 to 14.30 on the left bank of the Meuse — quais Van Hoegaerden, Roosevelt, sur Meuse, de la Ribuée, de la Goffe, de la Batte, de Maestricht and rue de la Cité — with around 200 pitches according to the City of Liège and between 10,000 and 20,000 shoppers each Sunday. The City puts it at nearly five centuries old; its origin is dated to 1561, when the cattle market was moved to the Batte, which makes it the oldest market in the country. Antiques and bric-a-brac are among the goods sold there.

That is the circuit through which a rug changes hands here. We are the direct alternative to it: no waiting, no commission, payment the same day.

The building stock

More than 200 Art Nouveau houses or buildings are recorded in Liège, or buildings incorporating Art Nouveau elements. They are concentrated in the districts that were developing around 1900: Fragnée, Fétinne, Jardin botanique, Saint-Gilles, Sainte-Marguerite, Cointe and the north of Outremeuse. The first of them is the maison Bénard, built in 1895 by Paul Jaspar; Victor Rogister is the most prolific of the movement, with some twenty buildings. The style declines after 1918, replaced by Art Deco in the 1920s.

It is in that building stock that the rugs we buy lie sleeping: interwar attics, reception rooms, landing cupboards.