Ali Aboutaam

Certainly, it’s not always easy to know how to go about purchasing an antique. There are a number of precautions that you can take to make sure that you get a legitimate antique and one from a reputable company.

Take a look at the U.S. State Departments website where you’ll see which countries have bilateral agreements on antiques or emergency rulings. The site also offers an image database where you can see pictures of restricted artifacts.

You can also check images against the Art Loss Register which is an international database of lost and stolen art. Certainly, the more that you know about the piece that you are buying, the more valuable it will be. Make sure to work with a reputable auction house and that you buy from auction houses that offer money-back guarantees. Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam, for instance, offer this money-back guarantee at Phoenix Ancient Art, which makes a tremendous difference in the dependability of the purchase.

Today, the market is showing an exciting growing interest in antiques. As Hicham Aboutaam explains, “There are antiquities available for purchase that are considered among the finest five in the world. Compare that to an Impressionist painting or the Old Masters, where the top 20 or 30 are off the market – in public institutions – and it’s obvious why there’s so much interest in antiquities.”

There is a great deal of opportunity with antiques, and a chance that some of the world’s most amazing antiques could still become for sale. The Vatican, for instance, has a massive store of antiques in their possession. Ali Aboutaam, as another example, recently returned from a visit to a Delaware family that has antiques simply sitting in their warehouse.

This all makes for exciting opportunities in the ever-changing field of antiquities.

Here is an example of the beautiful antiquities from Egypt available from Phoenix Ancient Art. The scarab is an example of the most popular type of amulet worn in ancient Egypt. This scarab, dating from the 1600 BC to the 1200 BC has a carved exterior that is made to look like a scarab beetle. The scarab beetle was a symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt and was also representative of Ra, the Egyptian sun god.

This type of scarab theme in amulets was first seen in the First Intermediary period and it persisted through the Late period. The Egyptians believed that a giant scarab beetle pushed the sun across the sky each day and this popularity led to its depiction in jewelry and other items. This is one of the many examples of ancient Egyptian antiques available from Ali Aboutaam and Hicham Aboutaam.

One of the largest antique shows in the world just concluded. The 55th Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair ran in Brussels from January 22nd to January 31st. 130 antique dealers, including Hicham Aboutaam and Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art, came out to display their outstanding antiques. 36,000 visitors from Belgium and abroad were expected to come to the Tour & Taxi site which includes 133,472 square feet of space.

Started in 1955, the Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair was originally named the Belgium Antiques and Fine Arts Fair. It is said to be the oldest annual event of its type in the world and it welcomes antique dealers from throughout the world to come and display their wares. Antiques on display include Oceanic art, African art, Oriental art, silver, antique jewelery, ceramics, earthenware and porcelain, drawings, engravings, old masters, modern painting, sculpture, carpets, tapestry, antique and modern books, numismatic, contemporary painting and sculpture, and photography.