Ali and Hicham Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art presented a beautiful catalog displaying unusual antiquities from a class with neglected, forgotten themes.
The following is the introduction to the catalog.
The works of Greco-Roman antiquity are familiar to our vision of the world. We are well acquainted with the themes of reason, moderation and truth, these values being the cornerstones of western civilization as we know it. In addition, the essence of the art is naturalistic: based on objective observations of the reality surrounding us. However the art, as art, goes a step further, responding to the reality with a desire to surpass reality, making it truer, more beautiful, and more perfect than the reality observed. There is systematic idealization, often depicted in the artistic representation of the human form, which is seen as the highest standard of beauty. This is why it is fundamental to the Greek notion of beauty that the gods are represented through the human form, distinguished only through an exceptional sense of majesty.