What is Meant by Hellenistic Art?

The term Hellenistic is a modern term which encompasses a large geographical area and long period in time. Hellenistic art dates from about 323 BCE until the year 146 BCE and including all of the Aegean. Since such a large area and time period are included, Hellenistic art is comprised of many varying styles. However for the sake of convenience this is the term that is used.

Phoenix Ancient Art has a wonderful selection of Hellenistic art to choose from. Ali Aboutaam owner and manager of Phoenix takes pride in his collection which has been chosen with the utmost care so that his collectors will choose their art from only the best possible alternatives.

Hellenistic Head at Phoenix Ancient Art

While we’re on the subject of marble heads, Phoenix Ancient Art has a wonderful Hellenistic head of a King available for purchase. Amazing in detail, it is related to depictions of Antiochus III (The Great). Executed realistically the head was sculpted with a square chin, sunken cheeks, fleshy lips and large almond-eyes. His age is not hidden as he is portrayed with deep wrinkles along his neck, a long crease at the bridge of the nose, a receding hairline and thick, naso-labial folds.

Due to the scale and the diadem on his head, it is believed that the subject of the sculpture was of royal lineage. There is a close relation between this sculpture and one which is identified as Antiochus III in the Louvre.

Antiochus III won the famous battle of Panium in 198 B.C.E. which ended the Ptolemaic rule in Judea. His son, Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) continued in his father’s footsteps and tried to destroy (unsuccessfully) the Jews in Judea. The story is written in the Book of Maccabees, the apocrypha of the Bible.

“Art and Watch making, Le Temps au Féminin.”

Ali Aboutaam, proprietor of Phoenix Ancient Art in Geneva contributed a marvelous Hellenistic Head of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite to the art exhibit sponsored by the French watchmaker Audemars Piguet. The marble bust, dating back to the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century B.C.E. will be part of the exhibit “Art and Watch making, Le Temps au Féminin.” This exhibit is part of the “Association pour l'Art en Vieille Ville - AVV" in Geneva. The exhibit ran from May 1st to May 9th, 2009.

Ancient Art for Everyone

Now it is possible to enter the world of collecting antiquities without leaving the comfort of your home. As long as you have internet access Phoenix Ancient Art makes it possible for you to purchase antiquities or participate in an antiquities auction on-line by visiting the virtual ancient art gallery called e-tiquities.

Ali Aboutaam and his brother Hicham, co-owners of Phoenix Ancient Art, have inaugurated e-tiquities, a virtual gallery where you can bid on or purchase rare and beautiful ancient works of art from as early as the Neolithic period in human history, approximately 6,000 B.C.E., spanning time until the 14th century A.D.

The on-line collection represents ancient cultures from the area of the Mediterranean and includes Greek, Roman, Byzantium Islamic and many other civilizations which flourished from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus Valley in the East.

On-line prices range from as low as $500, allowing just about anyone to become a collector of rare antiquities, allowing a broad base of potential customers to participate in the fulfilling, rewarding and inspiring world of ancient art collecting.

The Vision of Collecting Antiquities at Phoenix Ancient Art

Ali Aboutaam and his brother Hicham believe that collecting antiquities gives the collector a sense of deep, personal connection to the objects he/she possesses, even more than just admiration of its beauty.

In the past antiquities have been an inspiration to artists, writers, politicians and conquerors. Today this art connects us to the cultures of history for which we owe our present-day civilization. Owning a part of our parent cultures gives people a great sense of rootedness in our own modern western culture and a deep appreciation for the cultures of the past that spawned our own, today. Collecting antiquities is nothing less than connecting to our ancestors, and appreciating the great civilization we have inherited from them.

Phoenix Ancient Art sees it as their goal that their clients will sense the fusion of the great elements contained in each artwork; of history, culture, beauty and symbolism and forge a personal connection that transcends today and reaches far back in time and extends far into the future.

Careful Choosing of Artifacts Insures Collectors the Best Selection

At Phoenix Ancient Art collecting antiquities is seen as a passionate pastime and not a casual hobby or mere investment of money for the collector. Ali Aboutaam and his brother Hicham take great care when choosing the works that they offer for sale to their clients. Each piece is personally scrutinized and deemed worthy of meeting the required standards of intrinsic beauty and artistic value, as well as historical significance which is necessary to be part of the collection at Phoenix. Because of their loving care the Aboutaam brothers insure that only artifacts of the highest caliber, quality and beauty are offered to collectors.

Ancient Art Heads Towards the Future

For most of the 20th century, art collecting, of modern as well as ancient works, was in the exclusive domain of adults. As we march into the 21st century, we see wealth accumulating more among young people who are raising their children to be savvier about their culture, we see an interesting development of children becoming interested in and collecting art objects, ancient and contemporary.

Beginning when Soliman Aboutaam was only age seven, and his brother Alexander was age five, their father, Hicham Aboutaam began a collection of ancient coins for his two sons. The boys enjoy the pictures of ‘monsters’ often found on the ancient currency, of griffins and chimeras, which seemed an interesting subject to keep the boys’ attention. They are learning how to care for their collections as well. Soliman explains that you need to “always be careful to hold the coins along the edge, so that the front does not erase.”

Hicham and his brother Ali were also raised with ancient art all around them, and when the time came for them to take over their father’s antiquities dealership and turn it into the world renowned gallery Phoenix Ancient Art, they were more than ready.

Passing down the appreciation and love of ancient art, its beauty and historical significance is a very special gift we can give to our children.