HIXENBAUGH ANCIENT ART, NEW YORK

Hixenbaugh Ancient Art Ltd is located at 320 East 81st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The gallery is dedicated to handling fine authentic antiquities. All of the pieces we handle are legally and ethically acquired, in complete accordance with US and international regulations and laws concerning the import and sale of ancient objects. We deal only in authentic pieces with minimal or no restoration. All objects sold by us are guaranteed genuine and as described in perpetuity.

The director, Randall A. Hixenbaugh, has for well over a decade been involved in ancient art and antiquities. He holds a Master's Degree in Classical Archaeology and has participated in a number of archeological excavations of Roman and Punic sites in Tunisia. An avid collector himself, he is an accomplished numismatist and a student of Sumerian, Greek, and Latin languages. He is the former Assitant Director of Royal-Athena Galleries in New York and the former Editorial Assistant for Minerva Magazine, the International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology.

We specialize in building collections with our clients, both public and private. Due to our in depth knowledge of the antiquities market we are often able to locate particular pieces to complement any collection. Please feel free to contact us and let us know what you are trying to find.

We acquire pieces with a very discerning eye, and one can be assured of our integrity, expertise, and the value of the objects we handle.

A word about ethics, expertise, and authenticity with regards to collecting antiquities

Authenticity obviously is of paramount importance in collecting antiquities. Experience, education, and a well stocked library are the cornerstones one relies upon when attributing an ancient piece of artwork. There are two things to be avoided when collecting antiquities - buying fakes and buying illegally excavated and exported material.

The first can be difficult for the amateur. Many forgers aptly copy and adapt pieces of well known and well published varieties, but often betray themselves by not paying close attention to the details and conventions of ancient craftsmanship as well as working in the proper medium or material. On the other hand, some forgers closely mimic ancient techniques but misunderstand or misinterpret ancient iconography or aesthetics. Still another group of fakes were never meant to deceive. Pieces made during the height of Egyptomania of the last centruy, or for the travelers of the Grand Tour, or in the excitement following the early excavations of Pompeii, Knossos, Mycenae, or sites in Etruria. These pieces now are indeed antiques but not antiquities. Unfortunately pieces in all of these categories are sometimes passed on by unscrupulous dealers and auctioneers. There are both a great number of genuine antiquities and fakes on the market at any given time. (I have been disgusted to see a number of obvious and not so obvious fakes that have been brought to me for authentification later show up on this auction venue). It is the intention of Hixenbaugh Ancient Art to place all objects under the highest level of scrutiny to ascertain their veracity and correct attribution.

With regard to ethics, the artifacts and artwork of the ancients have long been a subject of study and fascination. The Romans, themselves, were avid collectors of Egyptian and Greek art. During the Renaissance, the collections formed by the early aristocratic antiquarians sparked academic interest in ancient civilizations which spawned a new scientific discipline- Archaeology. Through scientific excavations we have been able to verify ancient texts, establish chronologies and typologies, as well as reconstruct ancient monuments and social models. Although the American archaeological community often demonizes the trade in antiquities as encouraging the looting and destruction of ancient sites. This alarmist view is largely unfounded. The fact remains that international sanctions such as the UNESCO Agreement have proved very effective in stopping the wholesale destruction of major archaeological sites. The vast majority of material available on the market today, came out of the ground decades if not centuries ago and is both well understood and well represented in museum collections and academic publications. I have seen first hand museum and site storerooms jammed full of hundreds of thousands of artifacts deteriorating away while remaining unappreciatied, and neither studied nor published in a number of archaeologically rich countries. Therefore, we believe responsible collecting should not only be tolerated, but encouraged as collectors act as enthusiastic custodians of a great many objects that would otherwise be relegated to overcrowded storerooms or lost completely.