PHOENIX ANCIENT ART PRESENTS TWO ROMAN SARCOPHAGI WITH DISTINGUISHED COLLECTING HISTORIES AT SALON ART + DESIGN

From the Giustiniani Collection in Rome to Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Boston, two Roman masterpieces tell the story of centuries of collecting

New York, USA, Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This November, Phoenix Ancient Art and Hicham Aboutaam return to the Park Avenue Armory for Salon Art + Design, presenting an exceptional selection of antiquities that brings together ancient art and the history of collecting.

At the heart of the presentation will be two monumental Roman marble sarcophagi, each distinguished not only by its quality and subject matter, but by its remarkable provenance. One belonged to the celebrated Giustiniani collection of 18th-century Rome, while the other was once part of the collection of the legendary American collector Isabella Stewart Gardner.

The Giustiniani sarcophagus is richly carved in high relief with a dramatic marine procession of Nereides, sea-centaurs and fantastic sea monsters accompanied by flying Erotes. At its center, a portrait is set within a circular frame recalling the ancient Roman imago clipeata, the ancestral portrait traditionally displayed upon a round shield. Here, the clipeus takes the form of a seashell, an apparent allusion to Venus and her birth from the sea. The elaborate imagery brings together themes of beauty, heroism and the passage from life into the afterlife.

Hicham Aboutaam says, “The sarcophagus's history of ownership is equally compelling. It formed part of the renowned Giustiniani collection, assembled in Rome by the powerful Giustiniani family and celebrated throughout Europe for its extraordinary holdings of ancient sculpture in the 18th century. The collection became one of the great repositories of classical art of its age and was famously recorded in the Galleria Giustiniana, an illustrated publication that helped spread knowledge of Roman antiquities among European collectors and connoisseurs.”

In striking contrast, the second sarcophagus is characterized by elegance and restraint. Its strigulated surface surrounds a draped male figure holding a scroll, positioned above two crossed cornucopiae. At either corner are winged, sleeping Erotes. The composition combines the Roman funerary traditions of abundance, repose and eternal sleep in a remarkably understated design.

Its provenance connects it to Isabella Stewart Gardner, one of the most extraordinary collectors in American history. Gardner assembled a deeply personal collection of European art, antiquities and decorative arts and installed it within Fenway Court, her Venetian-inspired Boston home. Today, the collection is preserved at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where her original presentation remains central to the experience of the museum.

“Gardner believed passionately that art should be integrated into life. Her collection was not conceived simply as an accumulation of masterpieces, but as an environment in which art, architecture and personal experience became inseparable”, Hicham Aboutaam explains. The presence of this Roman sarcophagus within her collection reflects her enduring fascination with the ancient world and with the dialogue between works of art from different periods.

Together, the two sarcophagi offer a remarkable glimpse into both ancient Roman funerary art and the extraordinary collectors who preserved and celebrated it centuries later.

“We will be showing masterpieces that we have never shown before in a setting that is new and refreshing,” says Hicham Aboutaam. “Salon is an ideal place to present antiquities in this way.”

Phoenix Ancient Art will be at Stand B4 at Salon Art + Design, Park Avenue Armory, New York, from November 4–8, 2026.

ABOUT PHOENIX ANCIENT ART

With galleries in New York City (Electrum) and Geneva, Switzerland, Phoenix Ancient Art is one of the world's leading dealers in rare and exquisite antiquities, with a focus on Greek and Roman, Near Eastern and Egyptian art. Its works have been acquired by world-class museums and private collectors around the world.

Phoenix Ancient Art is a second-generation family business founded by Sleiman Aboutaam in 1968 and continues today under the leadership of the next generations.

For more information, contact info@phoenixancientart.com or visit www.phoenixancientart.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Hicham Aboutaam

President

info@phoenixancientart.com

+212 288 7518