Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

Bloomberg

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February 12, 2005

LANE BAJARDI, host: Welcome back to BLOOMBERG PERSONAL FINANCE.

Market volatility in recent years has left some investors looking to diversify beyond stocks, bonds and real estate. One alternative is antiquities. I visited a Manhattan gallery to find out more about investing in these relics of the past.

Rare objects from ancient civilizations allow collectors to literally own a piece of history. Hicham Aboutaam is the co-founder of Phoenix Ancient Art. I toured his New York gallery to learn about the antiquities market.

Mr. HICHAM ABOUTAAM (Co-Founder, Phoenix Ancient Art):

Antiquities have been highly appreciated by people throughout history, and antiquities, especially the antiquities of the Mediterranean Basin , are the essence of our Western civilization. So collecting antiquities has been happening for many, many years, and it's been always a very good investment.

BAJARDI: Why is that? Why is this a good time to consider investing in antiquities?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: This is a limited number of objects that soon will not be in private hands anymore. It will all end up in museums, and that's why it's a very good investment.

We like people to learn about the field before they get into it and to have a passion for it, because you're talking about works of art that you will live with for a long time. You have to love them, not only to think about them as a financial tool.

BAJARDI: Are there still amazing artifacts just waiting to be discovered right now?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: Yes. As long as you're doing that in a country that allows the antiquities trade and exportation. This has been happening, and that's what's very exciting about the field, actually.

BAJARDI: And just because an object may be centuries or even several thousand years old doesn't necessarily it's financially inaccessible.

People, when they think of antiquities, they think of very expensive items. Is there--is there a range that you can find?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: You could invest in antiquities for $4,000, $5,000, $50,000, $500,000 and more. The range is quite large.

BAJARDI: Anything here that you can point to that would be like that, or...?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: This little horse--this is a horse from the Geometric Period. It's bronze. It looks almost modern because of the abstract form of it. That's from about 700 BC approximately, and it's one of the finest examples. Although it's small, it's big in its aesthetic appeal and rarity. The value of that's about $25,000. If somebody wants to invest in less than $25,000, this Roman dog in bronze, although it's bigger than the horse, it's less money. It's only $5,000. You could go up to $600,000 with the fabulous, absolutely beautiful Egyptian wooden masks.

If you look at the contour of the lips, the original paint , the whole condition of it, it's probably the finest one in America .

Now, having said that, you can find also other masks from the same period that are worth 10 percent the value of this particular mask.

BAJARDI: Tell me about this small bust.

Mr. ABOUTAAM: That small bust is a Roman marble bust of Cupid from the 2nd Century AD, and it's in very good condition. The condition is not excellent, but this is in very good condition and it sells for (inaudible) three thousand dollars. So again, you have something that people can afford.

BAJARDI: And this currently is the most expensive, most valuable item you have in the collection?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: At this moment and at this particular location, yes. This is an absolutely important--it's a masterpiece from the late Roman Period, so this a Roman bust of an emperor. And we believe this is Licinius , so around 300 A.D. Exquisite details, it's all hammered--hammered from a single sheet of gold. There are only two other known gold Imperial busts in the world and this is the third one. So this is not only a wonderful piece to look at historically, but in terms of rarity, this is exceedingly rare.

BAJARDI: And what's the value of something this rare?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: $1.5 million.

BAJARDI: Phoenix Ancient Art finds the antiquities they sell mainly in Europe , through dealers, private collectors, agents and auction houses. And Aboutaam stresses that before purchasing any type of antiquity, investors need to do their homework.

How do you protect yourself from not getting ripped off here, from buying something that maybe is not worth what the person who's selling it is asking for it?

Mr. ABOUTAAM: One of the main elements is to have a dealer that's been around for a good number of years, that has a good reputation in the museums' world, and a dealer that respects its guarantees. And these guarantees are authenticity--the authenticity of the piece—guaranteeing that it's been imported according to the law, guaranteeing the condition of the object that's being sold and guaranteeing that the object has been checked in the Art Loss Registry, which is a registry for stolen and looted artifacts. All of these elements are--are highly recommended if somebody wants to invest in this field.

BAJARDI: That was Hicham Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art.