The art market is full of personalities, but dealers and gallerists often seem little more than names when the market gets covered in print. In a new series, Apollo asks art dealers to introduce themselves and their businesses.
Tell us a bit about the history of your business…
I opened the gallery in rue Jacob, Paris, in 2008 after working for a few years with Jean-Philippe de Serres (galerie Serres, rue Bonaparte).
What are your specialist fields?
I deal mainly in antiquities from the Mediterranean: Roman, Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian. But my predilection is for ancient Near Eastern.
What’s the most exciting work you’re currently offering?
Currently I’m very fond of a Ptolemaic Egyptian relief of a king, making an offering, with traces of its original pigments.
What’s been your greatest triumph as a dealer?
The discovery of rare piece that now is in an international museum.
And your greatest professional regret?
I can’t think of any…
How has the market in your field changed since you started dealing?
The importance of provenance has changed the market a lot.
Do you collect yourself? And in the same field as you deal?
Yes various things, but mostly outside my field.
Which work have you been sorriest to part with?
None; because each piece that goes has an afterlife and pushes you to find new ones…
If you weren’t an art dealer, what would you be?
A musician.
David Ghezelbash Archéologie is based in Paris.
PAD London is on at Berkeley Square, London, until 20 October 2013.
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