Paris, France — It turned out to be one of the highlights of the incredibly rich artful autumn in Paris which is traditionally peppered with art fairs, exhibition openings and glamorous gallery shows. The OPUS-Ancient Art show was held for the third time last September 18th until the 22nd bringing together leading galleries and dealers in the Ancient Arts from Paris and abroad. The fair attracted over 1,500 visitors and a surprising number of young visitors, perhaps attesting to the fact that Ancient Arts are available in a range of prices and fine pieces can be acquired for just a few hundred euros.

It is a cozy fair with small booths that take on the look of a creatively decorated corner in the home. During the show Paris became a concentrated cradle of the lost civilisations of Antiquity with pieces on display from Ancient Egypt, the Near East, Ancient Greece and the mysterious Etruscans. Eight experts were called upon to form the vetting committee that evaluated each piece in collaboration with the Art Loss Register, the largest data base in the world for private stolen objects.

The fair was first held in 2022 and one of the early participants and enthusiasts was Laura Bosc de Ganay of the London-based Arteas Ltd. Gallery which is specialised in the Ancient Arts of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Near East. « Our objective is to attract a growing number of art collectors, young collectors, an international clientele and museums so they can discover the marvels of Ancient Arts. We want them to be aware that myriad objects filled with history are rare and affordable, rendering Ancient Art accessible to a wider public, » she said before the show. It seems the fair has succeeded in doing just that.

Special guests this year included the Antinoë French bookshop specialized in archeology and fine arts. The shop offers rare works covering the periods of pre-history to the Middle Ages. The Atelier Bresson specialized in the conservation and restoration of art objects of Antiquity and Archeology was present as well. An exhibition entitled Dilettanti, Collectors of Another Time presented to the visitors an in-depth reflection on the traceability of archeological objects and the role of collectors and dealers through the ages. The show was held in the Commines Space in the lively Marais neighborhood of Paris and is slated to be held next year during the September art season. https://www.opusartfair.com/
©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette.