Every piece tells its own, very special story

Since the Renaissance time ancient art has never been as present as it is today. Many contemporary artists take their inspiration for their works from stylized figures originating from the ancient Near East, but also from the Cycladic region and from Anatolia. Abstract heads, strict geometric figures, naturalistic – even the first naturalistic depiction in history ever – one discovers all this while looking at art dating from 6 000 years B.C. to around 600 years A.D.

But what is equally fascinating is the story of every single object. There are no editions, every item is a unique piece of art. Of course, also in ancient times, especially for terracotta objects, there was the method of working with matrixes – products for the masses. But still, there is no piece which resembles to the other. Every single art work which you can see on this website tells a story, its own story. It talks for example about offerings to calm the Gods, about idols for the family altar to protect against evil ghosts, about ancestors, grave goods, commemorative steles, about unique historic evidences which demonstrate how our ancestors thought and felt.

Of course, as a gallery for ancient art due diligence is the highest principle. We therefore guarantee for the authenticity of all pieces in the gallery – without any time limitations. We also guarantee that every object in the gallery can be legally traded. In this regard we pay highest attention to national and international due diligence obligations concerning the origin of the pieces and to communicate these to our customers. All provenances have been checked to the best of our knowledge and belief. As far as there are papers, invoices or certificates of previous collections available they will be, of course, handed over to the buyer together with a certificate of our gallery. And: International customers receive the law corresponding to each acquired object an official export authorization of the Austrian “Bundesdenkmalamt”. Not least because of this we are honoured to have important international private collectors among our clients as well as world-renowned museums, including the Staatlichen Antikensammlungen in Munich, the University Sorbonne in Paris and the Papyrus Collection in Cologne.

Hippokrates said: “Ars longa, vita brevis – Art is long, life is short.” The uniqueness and the beauty of ancient art prove that he was right.