GALLERY

Staci Sturrock of Palm Beach Post Interviews James Demirjian and Gregory Demirjian of Ariadne Galleries on collecting works from ancient civilizations

Pieces of ancient history
Visiting the spacious Ariadne Galleries booth – winding past the Roman stone mosaics, Greek terracotta vases and Alexandrian bronze vessels is like walking through a tiny museum."I can't tell you how many people have asked, 'Are these replicas?' But they're real," says James Demirjian. "Many people don't know that you can collect these."
But those who do are typically curious types, he says. "This is a field where you can learn a great deal about culture, about geography, about civilization, just by studying the piece and where it came from." Demirjian has an affinity for classical Greek works. "There's something very beautiful about that vase" – gesturing toward a black figure amphora, with a battle-preparation scene on one side and a combat scene on the other – "or some of our Aphrodite sculptures. Something very pure about them." His brother Greg says he prefers art and artifacts from Byzantium, from the fifth century to the 12th century A.D. "The art is incredibly diverse," says Greg. The Demirjians were introduced to the ancient world early on. "We were born into this," James says. "Our father and our grandfather were coin collectors, and from there my father took it into the arts – not currency-collecting but sculptural and three-dimensional works." Works suitable, perhaps, for a museum of one's very own.

Guest writer Mary Clemente interviews Gregory Demirjian of Ariadne Galleries to discuss antiquities and ancient art as not only important cultural and artistic creations but hard assets.

Zero Hedge is an American financial blog. It reports on Wall Street and the financial sector and is credited with bringing the controversial practice of flash trading to public attention in 2009.

"High society partying converts to cash for trade at Manhattan's British import...this basalt Female Idol, Neolithic Syrian or South Arabian, 4th millennium BC, was sold for around $250,000 by Ariadne Galleries, NY. Ariadne also sold a Roman sandalled foot, 1st - 3rd century AD, for about $150,000."

"More furniture, silver and other delectable works of art, ancient and modern, are presented by the 64 participants of this year's International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show, at the Park Avenue Armory (21 - 27 October). For those with a taste for sumptuous materials, consider...a group of banded alabaster vessels from Neolithic Syria (Ariadne Galleries; $125,000)."

by Amy Page

Ancient Near Eastern art, also called Western Asiatic, is not as well-known as Greek or Roman art, but is a fascinating and very complicated field. the complication is due to the fact that it spans an enormous time frame—from the 8th millennium B.C. (Neolithic period) to 323 B.C. (the death of Alexander the Great)—and an enormous geographical area as well a multitude of civilizations...

"One dark cloud that hangs over the question of forgery in Near Eastern art is lack of knowledge," says Aboutaam. "Mainstream scholars tend to condemn what is not commonly known." He, too, stresses that one must only buy from "reputable and knowledgeable people who go beyond the bounds of research." Torkom Demirjian, owner of Ariadne Galleries, says, "We don't worry about fakes because we do due diligence and have things tested." Scientific testing is good thing for every area of antiquity, but it can be expensive and can also take a long time. But for serious collectors of important pieces, testing has made buying antiquities a great deal safer.

Provenance is always important and particularly with Near Eastern antiquities. "I don't buy any Middle Eastern art unless I can verify its provenance," says Demirjian. "Otherwise," he adds, "it's a can of worms."

For full article:

by Barbara Kutscher

*English version of article translated through Google Translator*

New interest in Islamic

Traditionally, the dominant European furniture, they also provide this year for some impressive exhibitions. Ronald Phillips (London) brought about a great selection of mirrors of the 17th to 19 Century and gallery Lefebvre (Paris) shows an impressive range of Art Deco furniture. Here's a great sketch costs to the magnificent wall decorations by Jean Dupas? "Chariots of Thetis" (1934) in one of the salons of the famous ocean liner "Normandie" by 1 million dollars. Antiquities dealer Ariadne Galleries (New York) has a surprising selection of rarely seen Islamic pieces. This collecting area has seen steadily increasing interest in the U.S. for about one and a half years. Here is an unusually early, five-foot long carved wooden cornice from Andalusia (about 11-12. Century, 1.15 million dollars).

for full article:

This Venus in white marble is a Roman work from the 1st - 2nd century AD. Mr. Claude Verite, a self-taught expert, wrote about his subject, "this sculpture in white marble represents a crouching Venus. She is nude and ready for her bath. Despite her modest scale (40.6 cm including the base), that she is kneeling and missing an arm, the proportions of this piece are remarkable." This beautiful sculpture was inherited from his father, Pierre Verite, during the first half of the 20th century.

by Carolin Young

New York antiquities specialist Ariadne Galleries is exhibiting at the Biennale for the fourth time. Gregory Ara Demirjian notes that they too have seen a "healthy growth in business among our European clientele," and that "as a result we have been gradually shifting more of our focus to Europe, opening showrooms in Paris and Munich." The Biennale, which Demirjian describes as, "undoubtedly the most glamorous art event in Europe," is a natural venue for them.

For full article: