ecseri piac: a history lesson, photography still lifes and shopping all in one place

I have always enjoyed looking and touching things from the past...old dishes and cups, clothing and table-clothes, old boxes and tins. There is such mystery in these old things. Who owned them? What did this object mean to the original owner? How did this object end up at a flea market?

Today my friend Sue and I visited Ecseri Piac in Hungary. It is a fantastic market full of old world treasures...and some junk. It was very quiet today at the market. Only half the vendors had set up (it is Wednesday). This ended up being a good thing as everyone was relaxed and chatty without being pushy. Vendors were even open for me to take photos.

I wanted so badly to buy a few of these.
I love the colors! They wanted 30.000 ft. ($150!) no thanks.

Can you even guess what this is?? I will give you a hint...people come here for "dental holidays" because Hungary is suppose to have great inexpensive dental facilities.

I think this is an old dentist chair and to the right...dental equipment.

I like the patterns on these mugs.
Since living in Hungary I have gained a wealth of knowledge on Hungarian folk arts and motifs. I saw this plate and I was immediately drawn to it. It is very Hungarian but so unique as it is in black and white and has so much detail. I wish I would have asked how much it was. It is really beautiful.
War medals from pretty much every era you can imagine.
There is a Hungarian history lesson is in this display.
These are a few photos from last year. We actually saw these same weird puppets today. They are still looking for a home.
What are the children that played with these bears doing today, now that they are all grown up? This photo is interesting because I just realized that in front of the bears is an old camera. It is almost like these bears are posing for one last photo. (eladó means for sale)
Forgotten toys.

If you are ever in Budapest I highly suggest a trip to Ecseri Piac. You will get a history lesson, photography experiment and shopping all in one place.