Antiques Gallery

Not everyone may know that auctioning is the oldest form of art trading. In fact, it is a public auction sale introduced in ancient Rome.

Auctions were very popular with the Romans and were held on the Via Sacra and under the porticoes of the Saepta Julia in the Forum.

The spectacular increase in collecting, which became known in Rome from the 1st century BC. (after the conquest of Greece), it led to a great boost in the sales of works of art through this channel. Likewise, to the figure of the auctioneer were added those of the appraiser, the importer and the mediator. The tendency of investing in artistic pieces in order to sell them later on in periods of economic difficulties was born.

In this way, the foundations were laid for what we now call the art market.