Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art in Geneva, Switzerland

Phoenix Ancient Art was excited and proud to be part of the 55th Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair.  It took place from January 22nd to January 31st and included 130 of the world’s best known antique dealers.

Antique dealers, such as Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam came from many different countries.  Such locations represented included: Belgium, France, Germany, Great-Britain, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Portugal, Russia, Spain, USA and Switzerland.

36,000 visitors were expected to come to see the vast selection of available antiques including Oceanic art, African art, Oriental art, silver, antique jewelery, ceramics, earthenware and porcelain, drawings, and much more.

Guennol Lioness

“Compared to contemporary art, antiquities are terribly undervalued,” says Hicham Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art. This remark was made in response to the sale at Sotheby’s in New York of a 3 inch tall ancient limestone sculpture of a lioness for $57.2 million in December 2007. To date that was the highest ever paid for a sculpture.

The statue, known as the Guennol Lioness, is 5,000 years old and originates from Mesopotamia, where it was discovered not far from Baghdad, Iraq in the early part of the 20th century by archeologist Sir Leonard Woolley.

The winning price almost doubled the previous high which had been paid for a sculpture, and was three times the estimate of the piece’s value before the sale, at $18 million. In November of 2007 a Picasso bronze sold for $29.2 million, the previous high price, the “Tete de Femme (Dora Maar).”

Phoenix Ancient Art, a family business managed by brothers Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam, has galleries located in Geneva and in New York. Phoenix’s exclusive galleries are considered to be leaders in rare and exquisite antiquities – with the Phoenix team considered to the leading dealers in these fields.

There are many cultures that are represented in the displays and works of art that the Phoenix Ancient Art galleries display and offer for sale. These works stem from the fundamental cultures that gave birth to our world and Western civilization. These include the ancient civilizations of the Near east and the Far East, Mesopotamia, Central Europe, the Balkans, the Roman Empire and Egypt among others.

Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam have taken the business started by their father and made it into an internationally renowned art dealership. Phoenix Ancient Art is worth a visit if you are in Geneva or New York.

The Aboutaam’s Phoenix Ancient Art Galleries are exclusive antiquities galleries in New York City and Geneva, Switzerland.

Phoenix Ancient Art is considered to be one of the world’s leading galleries and dealers in rare and exquisite art works and antiquities.
Where do Phoenix Ancient Art Gallery’s works of art originate? (The Aboutaam brothers travel the world to secure the best items for their galleries.)

In general, and in short, from the cultures that comprise the essence of Western Civilization, These ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Near East, Central and Northern Europe, the Greek World and the Roman Empire, the Balkans, Eurasia, Southwest Asia, the Steppes, Byzantium and Christian, Islam, and European Dark Ages.

Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam run the successful and highly regarded Phoenix Ancient Art galleries that are widely considered by many to be the leading dealers in rare and high quality exquisite antiquities.

There are two galleries where you can get lost in history, or chat to Ali Aboutaam:

• Phoenix Ancient Art – The Geneva gallery, at 6 rue Verdaine, in the Old Town.
• Phoenix Ancient Art – The New York gallery, at 47E. 66th Street.

Walking into Ali Aboutaam’s Phoenix Ancient Art is like stepping into a glorious world of antiquities and history. The immense displays and beautiful layout make you feel right!

So, what are Antiquities?

That’s what this site is about – explaining Ancient Art, Phoenix, and antiquities.

The term “antiquities,” generally used in the plural, is a term defining objects from Antiquity, from the distant past. This term especially applies to the Mediterranean civilizations. These are  the Ccassical antiquities of Greece & Rome, Ancient Egypt and other Ancient Near Eastern cultures.

Join Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam at their Phoenix Ancient Art galleries to learn more.

Shopping for antiques can be difficult. Not easy to know what you are looking for, and whether what you are looking at is an antique.

When it comes to art – as with any sphere of life – it is important to go to the professionals in order to learn. Ancient Art is a field that is even more specialized, and therefore it is essential to know what period you are interested in and what the important factors about that period in history as well as the artifacts that remain and what their part is.

For an understanding as to art from the ancient world, it is worthwhile to start off by simply taking in some of the information available – whether from printed materials, lectures, or even simply take a walk around galleries.

A good place to start would be Phoenix Ancient Art galleries run by Ali and Hicham Aboutaam.

Phoenix Ancient Art S.A., which is run by brothers Ali and Hicham Aboutaam, has two galleries strategically located in Geneva and New York. (Phoenix Ancient Art is exclusively represented by their agent, Electrum.)

The Galleries opening hours are:
• Geneva Gallery : Mon. thru’ Fri., 10:30am to 6:30pm; Sat. by appointment only
• New York Gallery: Mon. thru’ Fri., 9:30 am to 5:30pm, Sat. by appointment only

Good idea to check that these opening hours are correct as they can vary by season or if there active exhibits.

Phoenix Ancient Art was incorporated in 1995, but this is an established business that is already into its second generation under the Aboutaam family. Phoenix was originally founded by the late S. Aboutaam in the mid 1960s, and it has become an Ancient Art concern of international renown. Aboutaam’s two sons, Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam took over the reigns from their father in 1998.

The Aboutaam brothers lived in a family steeped in the World of Antiquities, and it was quite natural for them, who had grown up as an integral part of the Phoenix Ancient Art experience, to take over from their father. Ali Aboutaam manages the  gallery in Geneva while Hicham Aboutaam manages the New York gallery.