NEW INTEREST ANCIENT OBJECTS.

Switzerland, most notably Basel, occupies a prominent position in the world of classical antiquities 

The success of Cultura, the World Art & Antiquities Fair, which debuted in November 1999 in Basel both private and institutional collectors of ancient objects consider Basel an important stop on their acquisitive itineraries.

In addition to Cultura, there are world-class dealers in classical antiquities located in several Swiss cities, one of Europe's foremost museums devoted to the subject located in Basel and a dedicated group of collectors and scholars who fuel each other's interests

An excellent atmosphere

"Basel offers an excellent atmosphere for antiquities," explains Peter Blome, director of Basel's Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection. The museum, one of the most important of is kind in the world, is relatively new, having been founded in 1961 by local collectors.

While classical antiquities were among the earliest "collectibles", dating back to the Middle Ages and assuming a major role in the "cabinets" of Renaissance scholars and businessmen, interest in ancient objects later waned. The focus of attention, at least in the 19th century, was on plaster casts, especially Roman copies of Greek originals, which were the subject of a museum built on Basel's Auguistinergasse in 1849, which is now devoted to ethnology and natural history. A strong revival of interest in ancient objects led to the founding in Basel, in 1956, of the Association of Friends of Classical Art by a group of eminent scholars and prominent businessmen in such fields as pharmaceuticals and banking. All of them were willing to contribute their outstanding collections to a new museum and to provide significant funds for its construction. A 19th-century building designed by Melchoir Berri, one of Basel's purest examples of classicist architecture and ideally located across the street from the Kunstmuseum , was chosen as the museum's site, providing 1200., square metres of exhibition space for roughly 650 objects then, committed. An important indication of the museum's quick rise to international prominence came in 1981 when the highly esteemed German collectors, Irene and Peter Ludwig, donated their collection of antiquities, some 200 works, on condition that the museum be expanded. This expansion included the incorporation of a neighbouring building, also designed by Melchoir Bern, and rededication of the Basel Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection, now covering 3,000 square meters of floor space and housing a collection of 2,000 objects, took place in 1988.

Following a major exhibition on Egyptian art from private Swiss collections in 1997, Professor Blome, who succeeded the museum's original director, Ernst Berger, in 1993, decided to found an Egyptian department but lacked sufficient exhibition space. That problem was overcome when Swiss bank UBS came forward with a donation of Sfr4.1 million and construction of the new Egyptian section is currently underway beneath the museum's tranquil courtyard. Its opening is' scheduled for 2001.

Confluence of commerce and culture

The Basel Museum of Ancient Art and Cultura are both the result of a fortunate, collaboration among scholars, collectors and dealers working together toward a common cause. Basel dealer David Cahn says that Basel derives its current strength in antiquities from the concentration of industrialist collectors, scholars/ archeologists and dealers whose interests and efforts are mutually complementary. His father, Herbert A. Cahn, one of the Basel museum's founders and a highly-respected antiquities scholar and former dealer, continues his research and cataloguing activities in collaboration with his son.

While the relationship between dealers and scholars has been known to be highly antagonistic in many places, their relationship in Basel and Geneva is said to be exceptionally good. These groups formed a fertile ground on which the Basel museum was built and which fostered the foundation of KAM, a fair devoted exclusively to antiquities which started out in the '70s in Basel and moved on to Zurich.

Cultura, supported by a hard core of international dealers, is expected to breathe important new life into a segment of the art market that David Cahn feels has been overlooked in recent years compared with Old Masters and modern and contemporary art which enjoy much higher visibility. "Classical antiquities have been vilified by a lot of negative press that led the public to believe that everything has been acquired through illegal means. They have forgotten that antiquities have been collected since medieval times and that important collections were amassed in the 16th century."

The founding of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA) in 1992 was a move by a group of dealers, including James Ede of London, Jerome Eisenberg of Antiquities New York, Hans Humbel of Zurich and David Cahn, its current chairman, to raise the standards of the profession, improve relations among dealers and represent their interests. Guided by a code of ethics and practices, IADAA's guiding principles include the encouragement of the study of and interest in ancient art throughout the world; the cultivation of contacts between museums, archeologists, collectors and dealers and the fostering of relations with international governmental and non-governmental bodies; and the organisation of mutual assistance between dealers and institutions. IADAA is firmly committed to the protection and preservation of ancient sites, and believes that a more liberal and rational approach to regulations concerning the import and export of works of art will help to protect the world's cultural heritage.

Of IADAA's 25 members, representing eight countries, 10 are based in Switzerland, an indication of the traditional large community of dealers and collectors in Switzerland and the role Swiss dealers played in the founding of the association. According to Mr. Cahn, "The association vigorously tries to create a more profound understanding of the function of the art market within the academic world."

Antiquities are accessible

The market in classical antiquities is small and highly specialised. David Cahn feels that it is a category "waiting to be discovered similar to Old Master drawings in the 1960s which were undesirable and underestimated." There is rarely a spectacular 'hit' where a piece is sold at public auction for more than a million. In fact, prices rarely reach very far into the six digits and there is a lot of extremely high quality classical art in the Sfr100,000 to Sfr300,000 range.

"One can build up a nice collection of classical antiquities on an annual budget of Sfr10,000 to Sfr20,000. I have several loyal clients who regularly spend that sum," Mr. Cahn goes on, pointing out that the history and myths surrounding ancient art is extremely interesting and information is readily available through an abundance of resources.

One interesting observation is that classical antiquities have long appealed to high-power businessmen and professionals, who appreciate their contemplative, immutable quality in a highly charged and rapidly changing world. "I know of several individuals who keep a collection of small ancient objects on their desks to fondle in times of stress. Sigmund Freud, for example, had a fine collection of Greek and Egyptian bronzes in his office which he mentioned in his writing"

Yet classical antiquities do not carry social cachet - at least not yet. "They are not something you would collect to become socially important," Mr. Cahn observes, noting that collectors in this field are usually socially secure and interested more in acquiring quality than collecting status symbols. The emphasis is on discretion and collectors - even very major collectors- are not generally known outside their intimate circle until their collections are donated to a museum.