Latest Articles

Rare Roman Marble Eagle

Elizabeth Siddiqui - 05/05/2023

In ancient Rome, as today, public art, such as altars and triumphal arches, were often state propaganda that subliminally–or overtly–promoted ideas of statehood and imperial might.  Initially represented by a bundle of sticks bound together, known as fasces, in 107 BCE Gaius Marius designated the eagle as the sole emblem of the Roman army, and by the end of the Republic, the eagle had become synonymous with the Roman military and Rome’s imperialistic expansion.

A Renaissance Master: Michele Da Verona's Battle Scene

Elizabeth Siddiqui - 05/10/2023

Michele da VeronaMichele da Verona (1470-1540) was a Renaissance master greatly influenced by the Venetian school of painting. He was a contemporary of Paolo Morando Cavazzolo–he may have even assisted Cavazzolo with the decorative works of San Bernardino–and is known for his Crucifixion in the Refectory of San Giorgio in Verona and several pieces in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His tempera Battle Scene on the panel was in the tempera technique–the oldest method of painting, and very widespread during the Renaissance, in which pigment was mixed with a water and egg solution–and originally decorated a cassoni but was subsequently removed and sold or gifted as a sole panel.

Domestic & Heavenly Godesses

Howard Nowes - 10/02/2019

 

Early history yields powerful evidence of mother goddess cults. Many of the early creation myths depict the creator as female. Although all goddesses can be referred to as mother, not all are maternal.  Beginning with the famous paleolithic Venus found in the Dolni caves of the Czech Republic, in ancient Middle Eastern religions and later in Greece, Rome, and Western Asia, the mother goddess is a symbol of the earth's fertility.

Art for Eternity an interview with antiquities dealer Howard Nowes

The Real Riviera - 12/03/2019


The Joy of Egyptian Amulets

Howard Nowes - 07/02/2021

Abundant, Innovative and Under-appreciated

Dara Mayers - 04/07/2023

Pre Columbian Costa Rica Nicoya Art
 
Nicoyan Treasures
 
Comprised of sloping inland planes, the Nicoyan peninsula of the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica has distinct atmospheric and geographical features. These beautiful, fertile lands provide an abundance of inspiration, which we can see in the arts left behind by peoples who lived here for thousands of years.

A Star Wars toy...or a piece of irreplaceable, one-of a-kind ancient art?

Dara Mayers - 08/06/2019

Boba Fet

While value is always subjective, when we see a Star Wars figure go for more than twice as much as an ancient, irreplaceable and beautiful work of art  we are reassured that while the market will always be crazy, at least in our world there are still remarkably powerful, and remarkably affordable, historically significant treasures to be found.

Treasure Hunting and a Big Dividend

Dara Mayers - 09/03/2019

Last week we were flipping through a glorious old catalogue—Helena Rubinstein’s collection of French furniture and decorations—which sold at Parke-Bernet in 1966. In it were a fewantiquities. One, a spectacular Egyptian piece, was familiar. We had seen it, and lusted after it, when it was sold at Sotheby’s in 2015.

Modern aesthetic from deep in the past...

Dara Mayers - 09/12/2019

Pre Columbian Nayarit CoupleLittle is known about the people of ancient West Mexico. They had no written language, and, unlike the Aztecs and Mayans, did not create any large scale art or monumental architecture. Virtually all we know of these cultures comes from their ceramic arts, which were buried in shaft tombs, deep in the earth, preserving them, sometimes remarkably well, for thousands of years.

The sensuous divine

Dara Mayers - 09/20/2019

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