Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art in Geneva, Switzerland » Investing

Renaissance Art News

alex1P0oa3 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:37:07 +0000

Over two decades ago, a purchase was made for an ivory-inlaid rosewood table at a cost of £6,000. But since then, new discoveries have been made revealing that it actually belonged to the Medici family collection. This was found by specialists at Sotheby’s. While it was originally just thought that the table was simply an example of Renaissance craftsmanship and dated back to the 16th century, with this additional information it gives it increased value. Indeed, once put up for auction it was expected to acquiesce a staggering £500,000, but actually was sold for a staggering £800,000. The background behind the piece was that it was commissioned between around 1596 and 1598 by the Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria II della Rovere, maybe in recognition of his wedding. It could have been Maestro Giorgio Tedesco and Giulio Lupi who were the creators behind it.

Owning a Piece of History

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:02:30 +0000

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.”

Investing in the Past Brings Dividends to the Future

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:42:51 +0000

Art collecting has always been a source of joy and satisfaction for many people, from the rich to the not-so-rich. Until relatively recently, however, collecting art was not thought of as a primary means for investing. In recent times works of art have been more and more reliable as a haven for funds, rewarding the collector with larger and larger profits on the resale at auction of the collected objects.

For instance, in a recent sale at Christie’s in New York, over $325 million in sales was enjoyed, the second highest total sales at a contemporary art auction since the 2nd World War.

In the antiquities marketplace, especially in the realm of ancient art, this fact is even truer. Considering that there is a limited amount of ancient art, (no one is producing any more of it) items are therefore rare and in demand, and demand continues to grow.

According to Hicham Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art, antiquities can be the perfect blend of a satisfying hobby or interest with an excellent way to diversify one’s portfolio.