Phoenix Ancient Art and the Aboutaams in Hot Water Again
Spring 2009, Vol. I, Issue No. V Art & Cultural Heritage Law Newsletter of the Art & Cultural Heritage Law Committee of the ABA Section of International Law
35 Pages Posted: 19 Feb 2020 Last revised: 26 Apr 2018
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
An examination of an arrest for smuggling antiquities out of Egypt.
Phoenix Ancient Art was founded in Beirut, Lebanon in the 1960s by Sleiman Aboutaam, and is now located in New York City and Geneva, Switzerland. After Sleiman’s death in 1998, the business was taken over by his sons, Ali and Hicham. The gallery does more business in antiquities than Sotheby’s and Christie’s combined, and the business continues to grow. However, the Aboutaams have been implicated in numerous cases involving provenance and looting disputes.
Keywords: Egypt, cultural heritage, antiquities theft, Law 117, Aboutaams, Phoenix Ancient Art, art law, art theft, looting, antiquities
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