Hicham Aboutaam Online

For those interested in news in the world of antique arts, a recent discovery was uncovered at the ancient city of Myra, near present-day Demre. The revelation was made six meters under ground level.  It was a Byzantine church that is said to date back to the 12th century.  Unfortunately, the church’s dome has been somewhat damaged over the centuries, but what is quite amazing is that its roof and tiles remain intact and the actual structure of the church remains intact.

In recent news around the world, the AP reports that four clay coffins estimated to be 2000 years old were unearthed in Cyprus.  The coffins, untouched by grave robbers, were said to be from the east Mediterranean Island’s Hellenistic to early Roman periods, from between 300 B.C. to 100 A.D.

“The undisturbed coffins will help us add to our knowledge and understanding of that period of Cyprus history,” Hadjicosti said.

In addition, other items found at the site included human skeletal remains, terra cotta urns and more.  All of these were discovered while workers were fixing a sidewalk in a resort location.

Certainly, if you are interested in collecting antiques, or if you are already an antique collector, you have many choices.  There are many antique dealers today who offer outstanding products and exceptional quality.  One such dealer is Phoenix Ancient Art.  They are a second generation Ancient Art company, originally founded in the mid 1960s by the late S. Aboutaam.

Having taken up his passion, Mr. Aboutaam’s sons are, today, the owners of the company.  Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam run and manage both the Geneva gallery and the New York gallery (pictured here).  Phoenix Ancient Art offers treasures from a large range of locations and time periods.  Its scope includes Mesopotamia, the Near East, Egypt, Europe, the Balkans, Eurasia, Byzantium, the Steppes, Greece and the Roman Empire.

One of the more recent arrivals at Phoenix Ancient Art, owned by Hicham Aboutaam and Ali Aboutaam, is the Egyptian Amulet of the Goddess Bastet.  This amulet is in an excellent state of preservation and is from the 3^rd Intermediary Period, from around the 8^th-7^th century B.C. in Egypt. The amulet is complete, and it has retained its original intense blue color.

Her throne was made with a technique that was very popular at the end of the New Kingdom and into the beginning of the first millennium B.C.  The faience was first cast and the openwork was then created by cutting away unwanted elements with a knife.  While the amulet is quite small in size, the work’s quality is excellent and a number of the anatomical details have been rendered with great precision.

The goddess Bastet was quite popular at the end of the Bronze Age and, as was quite common in Egyptian art, the figure has the body of a human and the head of an animal. Bastet is considered a mild mannered, sweeter version of the dangerous goddess Sekhmet.  She is the patron of the priestly doctors of Sekhmet and she protected women in childbirth and children.

The NY Times reports on an interesting recent development in the antique world.  In the last six years, more auctions have shown salvaged materials and memorabilia from “ships of tragedy” or shipwrecks such as the Normandie and the Andrea Doria.

Bonhams in New York is featuring a sale titled “Life on Board” now with a canvas life jacket, drinking vessels, dinner plates and more from famous shipwrecks.  This is certainly not the type of antique most of us associate with the word “antique” but it is making for some interesting headlines and news!

Hicham Aboutaam, co-proprietor of Phoenix Ancient Art, sells antiques from a variety of different historical time periods.  One of these is South Italian, also known as Italiote.  Pieces during this time frame were made in Magna Graecia (the coastal regions around Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf, colonized exclusively by Greek settlers).  The time frame was the 4th century BC.  In terms of artistic themes throughout this period, it was the red figure pottery that it was most famous for, which has a very unique and easily distinguishable style.  The five regions that crafted Southern Italian art were: Apulia, Campania, Lucania, Paestum, and Sicily.

Certainly, it’s always exciting when antiques are discovered and artifacts are unearthed. In recent archeological news in Alexandria, Egypt, divers have been exploring a palace and temple from Cleopatra’s rule that were submerged as a result of earthquakes and tsunamis over 1600 years ago.

This is considered to be one of the richest underwater archeological sites in the world and is certainly worth taking notice of! For enthusiasts, the finds from this excavation will be on display at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute from June 5 to January 2nd in an exhibition titled, “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt.”

Hicham Aboutaam and Ali Aboutaam often add precious gems to their Phoenix Ancient Art collection.  These can also be purchased without leaving one’s home, by visiting the company’s online site, e-Tiquities, depicting very clear images so that the potential buyer can really get a good idea of what they are purchasing.  One such gem is the bronze bracelet with female heads.  This antique dates back to 12—BC-8th century BC and hails from the Mesopotamian Era (also referred to as the Bronze Age).  Like this piece, many of the artifacts found from this time were bronze.
Add Phoenix Ancient Art to your Collection
For $14,000 this piece from the Aboutaam’s collection could be yours.  For an antique collector the price might just be right since it sports very detailed decoration.  The bracelet is actually two halves which connect via a hinge so that it easily opens on the wrist.  But since the original pin holding together the other side is no longer on the bracelet, that side remains open.  Still, it is probably not something that one would wear on a day-to-day basis.  For one interested in interesting motifs, this is a good purchase since it can tantalize you for hours with its butterfly, faces, almond shaped eyes, strong noses, etc.

Plastic Vessel in the shape of a Monkey’s head.
Apulian, 4th Century B.C.
Height: 3 5/16”
Diameter of Base: 21/16”

Monkeys did not exist in the art of Greece, but they can be found in the art of Magna Graecia, the Greek colonies on the southern coast of Italy. The image of the monkey came from Africa during the Ptolemaic period during the rule of Alexander the Great. Most plastic vessels are made in the shape of animal heads–birds, bulls, ducks, deer—or women’s heads, and such vessels as the were used to hold aromatic oils and perfumes. Here is a rare and charming example of a monkey’s head that comes from the Apulia region. This finely-detailed model is made of terracotta with a black glaze and added paint. “It is a remarkable survival and record of the virtuosity of the Greek colonies whose culture spread across the Greek world,” says Hicham Aboutaam, co-owner of Phoenix Ancient Art

$90,000

Geneva Branch of Phoenix Ancient Art Opening New Exhibit

Entitled “Le Cheval dans l’Antiquité” the latest exhibition at the Geneva branch of Phoenix Ancient Art is already in full swing. Having already had its opening on April 30, it will run all together for two months, closing on June 30, 2010.

Hicham Aboutaam, proprietor of Phoenix Ancient Art, helped to organize this unique celebration of the role of the horse in ancient society in a variety of artworks from antiquity. The exhibition will feature many works from many different times and cultures, all coming together to tell the special story of man’s unique relationship to the horse.

Whether they are wild or domesticated, working for us or helping us play, society’s love, fascination, dependence and attachment to the horse has been recorded since ancient times in the art that civilizations have produced throughout the ages.

Hicham Aboutaam and his brother Ali invite you to come and participate in this special exhibit which will be happening until June 30 at the Geneva branch of Phoenix Ancient Art, 6 rue Verdaine, Geneva, Switzerland.