What defines 'Ancient Art'?

In my last entry I described in detail my interpretation of what is meant by an antiquity. This was based on academic and professional understanding of both archaeology and the ancient art market.

This may have got somewhat confusing, so in comparison I will try and keep this entry succinct and to the point. You may notice some dealers describe their stock as 'antiquities' and other describe themselves as sellers of 'ancient art'. There is no great myster about the difference. It is primarliy an aesthetic judgement, although money also has a lot to do with the definitions.

An antiquity may be an example of 'ancient art' if it is aesthetically pleasing and/or historically important. All works of 'ancient art' are by definition antiquities, but not all 'antiquities' are of an aesthetic quality to be considered 'ancient art'.

Perhaps the most important point to remember is these definitions are modern, and made by a trade dependent on selling to a relatively small market. The ancient civilizations from which 'ancient art' and 'antiquities' originate, on the whole do not even have the concept of an artist.

The artist as a nmaed individual first appears on Greek vases. Even if a name is not known such as the Euphronius Krater, vases may still be identified as 'art' becuase the style can be attributed to a school or painter, e.g the Micali Painter.

Egyptian and Near Eastern art may be considered aesthetically pleasing by current collectors and museums, but the 'artists' were in fact craftsmen, working to standard canons of representation for specific buiding projects e.g. the decoration of a temple or tomb.

It is certainly true that all antiquities range in quality and importance, but this you will only be able to work out for yourself with detailed knowledge and experience of museum collections, private collections and the ancient art market. I suggest you look at published catalogues of dealers such as 'Art of the Ancient World', published by Royal Athena Galleries and the various catalogues of Rupert Wace Ltd of London, amongst others. These will give you fine examples of 'ancient art'. Compare to museum and exhibition catalogues such as 'Pharaoh's of the Sun' and 'In Pursuit of the Absolute - Masterpieces of Ancient Art from the George Ortiz Collection'.

Above all remember, you wil be unlikely to be in a position to form a collection of ancient art to equal George Ortiz, or the hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt, but that does not mean you have to settle for poor quality antiquities which are more common than dealers would have you believe.

Our mantra will remain the same throughout this Blog, buy the best you can afford and trade up whenever possible. A reputable dealer will give you the same advice.

Above all, dont be intimidated by the Bond Street image of the market.