Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art in Geneva, Switzerland

Antiquing today has certainly changed from years gone by. Many antique galleries, such as Phoenix Ancient Art, owned by Ali and Hicham Aboutaam, used to be appointment-only galleries. Now, their offices are open to the public and welcoming to all. The Aboutaams publish beautiful catalogs and work to broaden their client base.

Interestingly, the sale of antiques over the internet has also blossomed. As Hicham Aboutaam says, “We just sold a $150,000 piece over the web,” Hicham says. “We never met. The buyer just wired the money, and we sent the piece. That’s it.”

Many of these antiquity companies are seeing their businesses taking off more than ever before. For instance, Phoenix Ancient Art, owned by the Aboutaam brothers, sold 12 pieces in 2007 for more than $1 million each. This is compared to 2005 when they only sold two pieces. In comparison, Sotheby’s didn’t sell any antiquities for over $1 million in 2006 and sold six of this sort in 2007.

This is certainly good news for the antiquities field – and for hard working companies that want to publicize the important of antiquities.

Should you be looking for a beautiful example of Early Greek antiques, this “Psi” idol from Phoenix Ancient Art is an outstanding choice.  Decorated by hand with brownish red paint, this statue represents a woman with arms uplifted and a flat head.

This type of figure first appeared in Mycenaean tombs beginning in the 15th century B.C.  As reported by a number of archeologists, these figures represent a Neolithic mother goddess.  Some posit, therefore, that they should be grouped with ritual objects that were intended to help with fertility and female needs.

The Mycenaean Terracotta Cup is an exceptional example of Early Greek antiques.  Available through the Phoenix Ancient Art galleries, owned by Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam, this one-handled cup includes delicately painted spirals.  The cup is made of a fine clay and the general shape suggests that the artists were influenced by metal types.

The cup has been beautifully preserved and is relatively rare.  It was produced between 1600 BC and 1200 BC, during a time of great cultural exchanges and contact.  It represents a time when connections were growing between the Mycenaean world of mainland Greece and the island civilization of Crete, creating the Creo-mycenaean culture.

The Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair just recently concluded, and Phoenix Ancient Art was proud to be part of this amazing fair.  Formerly known as the Belgium Antiques and Fine Arts Fair, this program is the oldest annual event of its type anywhere in the world.  First organized in 1955, the fair moved in 2004 to the Tour & Taxis site.

With its central location, the fair, which welcomes 130 exhibitors including Phoenix Ancient Art, expects over 36,000 people to come and enjoy the fair each year.  The fair occupies 133,472 square feet of display space and includes antiques from every area of the world.

This fair is simply a must-see in the antique world as it allows antique dealers like Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam to display their exceptional works, while allowing visitors to see a vast selection of antiques all in one location.

Asserting that ancient art objects can be an excellent way to diversify assets when considering investment vehicles, nevertheless, Hicham Aboutaam cautions that the prospective investor must also possess passion for and knowledge about the antiquities he is procuring.

Collecting antiquities is not like other ways of investing money, obviously, explains Hicham Aboutaam. Those collecting these rare, beautiful art objects will be displaying them in their homes, so therefore must enjoy viewing them, now, and in the future. Collectors also must be informed about the items they collect, so that they make appropriate purchases at the correct prices.

Phoenix Ancient Art and the Aboutaam brothers, Hicham and Ali, make collecting antiquities the most pleasant and rewarding of pastimes. They love to educate the public and they guarantee that everything you purchase is exactly what you wanted and expected.

According to Hicham Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art, collecting and owning antiquities has always been an interest to people throughout history. Antiquities are appreciated for their beauty as art objects as well as their role as repositories of the cultures of the progenitors of western civilization. For this reason collecting antiquities is a growing interest, and if the number of objects can never get larger, as demand increases and supply is static, prices will rise. This fact makes investing in antiquities a pretty safe bet.

In other words, as Hicham Aboutaam puts it,

“Especially antiquities originating in the area of the Mediterranean basin are the essence of our western civilization.”

This past October the 21st International Fine Art and Antique Dealers fair took place at the Park Avenue Armory. After expressing “apprehension” this past June about how the fair would succeed amidst the global economic crisis, most dealers expressed satisfaction with their results.

Phoenix Ancient Art was present, and with Hicham and Ali Aboutaam there representing their New York and Geneva offices, interest was keen and sales were excellent.  Bidding was “feverish” for a statue of a first-century Roman female figure, which ultimately sold for $800,000. Other sales at the Phoenix Ancient Art booth included a Roman bust, selling for $120,000 and a ceramic oinochoe-shaped head vase from 450 BCE which sold for $300,000.

The fair itself had a new flavor, with many veteran exhibiters refraining from attending, but with many more newcomers taking their places and then some. Altogether there were 15 dealers from previous shows not attending, but 21 first-timers displaying their wares.

Mostly gone were the fine arts such as paintings of the impressionist and pointillist genres, with price tags soaring in the multi-million dollar range. Replacing them were the more decorative arts and antiques, with substantially more modest prices.

According to Ann Haughton, responsible for the organization of the highly respected fair, the mood was distinctly up-beat. Many dealers told Ms. Haughton that they saw clients for the first time in two to three years in some cases, and a definite “sea change” in the atmosphere was experienced.

A wonderful example of Hellenistic Realism, this bronze sculpture depicts a street dance that appears to be suffering from some type of deformity or other sickness. As an example of daily life, we see the artist expressing extreme care to capture the details with precision. Anatomically we see clearly energetic movements of the dance, rendered in an unnatural but realistic style.

Although it is difficult to guage the age of the dancer depicted, it can be surmised that due to the figures extreme thinness and large, smooth forehead and facial features that we are observing a man getting on in years.

Ali and Hicham Aboutaam invite you to examine more examples from their catalogue, “Exotics of the Classical World” and enjoy a trip to the classics, with a little bit of a different point of view.

Not only can you purchase antiquities from Phoenix Ancient Art, but there are beautiful catalogs available which discuss interesting subjects which many of the antiquities available at Phoenix are examples of.

For example, Ali and Hicham Aboutaam published a catalog entitled “Exotics of the Classical World.”

Within this catalog 40 separate pieces are discussed in depth in English, with a full French translation of each description available in an appendix at the back.

The premise of this collection is a counterpoint to what has come to be accepted as the theme of Greco-Roman antiquities and the neo-classical movement of the 19th century. In opposition to the traditional notion of the ‘Greek-Roman’ ideal of beauty, idealism, elegance and nobility, the “Exotics” collection point to a different standard, that of the unusual, strange, picturesque, and even ugly, at times.

Delve into the world of “Exotics” with the Aboutaam brothers, and get a taste of something different.

AliAboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art offers objects from a huge range of time periods and geographical locations.  One of the more astounding artifacts on offer is a Scythian bamboo bow and quiver set. This remarkably preserved set is from the 3rd to 1st century. The state of preservation is astounding, with wood and leather paint almost perfect.

Also incredible is the fact that this set has remained together through the ages. The bamboo bow is shaped into a triple curve, the center curve for hand placement, and the top and bottom curves to increase the action of the bowstring.

Scythian Bamboo Weapon

Scythian refers to a group comprised of many tribes which were nomadic. They spoke the Iranian language and roamed throughout the area from the Danube river plains to the Central Asia steppes and eastward to Siberia.
The Scythian main occupation was as warriors, and even Scythian women were welcomed to fight in battles.
This artifact is quite a find, not just for its inherent beauty but for its historical value as well.