Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

ON SALE! - 20 USD, 23 CHF

2005-1 a 135 page catalogue featuring 83 works in color

The works of art assembled for this catalogue are representative of Phoenix Ancient Art’s ongoing dedication to bring to the public only the highest quality and the most engaging subjects from the master craftsmen of antiquity. These works are testaments to the great artistic traditions and the glorious cultures of the past - cultures that can scarcely be rivaled even today for the beauty of their magnificent sculptures, unparalleled bronzes, delicate glasswork, vivid mosaics and exquisitely crafted jewelry.

These objects truly constitute the essence of Western Civilization; the products of cultures that helped define the very meaning of civilization such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Classical Greece and Rome, Central Europe and Southwest Asia.

These works were selected for their universal appeal. Within this collection, one can find objects that are accessible to those who are new to ancient art as easily as others that will satisfy the discriminating tastes of the most seasoned collectors. Private individuals as well as institutions and museums may very well find here a great work of art to add to their holdings or complete a collection.

Phoenix Ancient Art believes that an object must first enchant the collector aesthetically and viscerally, creating a personal connection between the work and its owner. Then and only then can additional elements such as age, cultural background and history add further levels of enjoyment and appreciation, making the collecting of ancient art a uniquely enriching experience.
ON SALE! - 20 USD, 23 CHF

2006-1 a 112 page catalogue featuring 55 works in colorThe works of art assembled in this catalogue are representative of Phoenix Ancient Art’s ongoing dedication to bring to the public only the highest quality and the most engaging subjects from the master craftsmen of antiquity. These works are testaments to the great artistic traditions of the past – works that can scarcely be rivaled even today for the beauty of their magnificent sculptures, unparalleled bronzes, vivid mosaics and exquisitely crafted jewelry.

These objects constitute the essence of Western civilization; the products of cultures that helped define the very meaning of civilization, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Classical Greece and Rome, Central Europe and Southwest Asia.

These pieces were selected for their universal appeal. Within this collection, one can find objects that are accessible to those who are new to ancient art as easily as one can find works that will satisfy the discriminating tastes of the most seasoned collectors. Private individuals as well as institutions and museums may very well find within these pages a great work of art to add to their holdings or to complete a collection.

Phoenix Ancient Art believes that an object of ancient art must first enchant the collector aesthetically and viscerally, creating a personal connection between the work and its owner. Then and only then, can additional elements such as age, cultural background and history add further levels of enjoyment and appreciation, making the collecting of ancient art a uniquely enriching experience.

2006-2 a 144 page catalogue featuring 55 works in color

ON SALE! - 20 USD, 23 CHF

2007-1 a 171 page catalogue featuring 49 works in color

ON SALE! - 50 USD, 61 CHF

2006 Catalogue, The Painter's eyes, 121 pages

The viewing of a private collection of art is, by necessity, a very different experience from viewing a museum collection. The distinction between appreciating art and making the active choice to acquire art is to make the leap from passive observation to active pursuit. The decision to collect is one that puts the personal tastes of the collector on display, open to the scrutiny of scholars, art aficionados and fellow connoisseurs. While some may balk at the idea of inviting this kind of scrutiny, it is with great confidence that the collection of Dr. J.D. greets the public, displayed in its entirety for the first time.
The collection mirrors the concerns of the collector: in this case, a scholar and connoisseur of Greek vases whose exacting eye for rarity, condition, and, above all, artistic quality were honed both in the university classroom and as an observer and participant in the European art market. Collected during the course of his archaeological studies in the 1960s and early 1970s, J.D. had the singular opportunity to supplement his scholarly research with the development of his instincts as a collector. The end result is a distinct group of ceramics of great academic importance, each vase presenting an element of painting or iconography that differentiates it from the canon of related works.
Keeping the Dr. J.C. vases company are works from some of Europe’s most well known collections of antiquities. Prominent among them is the private collection of Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Emperor Napoleon I and an avid amateur archaeologist (nos. 5, 6). Bonaparte - also known as the Prince of Canino, a title bestowed upon him by Pope Pius VII - excavated energetically while in self-imposed exile in Italy, during the 1820’s and 30’s . A superlative vase from the Bromley-Davenport collection at Capesthorne Hall (no. 4) reveals that the English were just as passionate about their antiquities as the French. Sir Edward Davies Davenport, a radical intellectual of the early 19th century, amassed one of England’s finest collections of antiquities during a series of European tours.
The vases presented in this catalogue represent the collecting habits of people from different backgrounds, countries, even centuries, who have all been brought together for a singular purpose: to encourage closer observation of these works of art, works that embody not only the artistic sensitivity of their collectors, but also of their original creators. Let us bring these ancient triumphs of design and draftsmanship off their dusty shelves and into the light. After all, in the words of Sir John Beazley, “Any day a new vase, or a familiar one seen again, may light up a dark corner”.

ON SALE! - 50 USD, 61 CHF

The works of Greco-Roman antiquity are familiar to our vision of the world, dominated by reason, moderation and truth. In essence, the art is naturalistic: based on objective observations of reality, it responds with a desire to surpass this same reality, resulting in systematic idealization. The human body represents the highest standard of beauty, and it is through the human form that the gods are represented, distinguished only by an exceptional sense of majesty.

In the 19th century, the taste for antiquity, engendered in the neo-classical movement, again reinforced this image of ancient idealism, filled with supreme elegance and nobility.

And so, an entirely different side of antiquity was naturally forgotten, one that was on the margins of these grand themes and was considered negligible: the unusual, the strange, the picturesque. These works were seen as trivial and repulsive. This exhibit is one that suggests a change of scenery - one that has a counterpart in the literature of the times - a release of sorts. It is a response to a sort of weariness, caused by an excess of dignity and grandeur.