In Service of the Sacred (Pt I)

Our clients come from all manner of backgrounds, lifestyles, environments, and occupations.  And the primary reasons for their interest in ancient art can be just as varied; ranging from scholarly purposes, to ancestral ties, to academic pursuits, to decorative display, to financial investment, or even archeological and anthropological curiosity (just to name a few).  But one reason that may be the most fascinating, and which happens to strike a particularly strong chord with us, is the appreciation of these objects for their role in service to the sacred.  The ancient way of life was in many ways anathema to our own, but perhaps one of the most profound and marked distinctions, was their nearly complete and utter devotion to the realm of the sacred--and to the divinities, the gods, and powers that be which inhabited it.  Not only on an individual level, but in the sum collective thrust of society and civilization as a whole.  

In our current age of high technology, unfathomable gadgetry, and machine like reason, modern man has largely shifted from a mysterious and multitudinous cosmological worldview teeming with spirits, deities, gods, demons, ghosts, ghouls,  phatasms, celestials, and more--to one where stark materiality reigns supreme--and within that material hierarchy man has firmly established his place at the apex.  To the ancient mind this would have indeed been quite confounding and in fact considered in many ways to be rather empty and estranged.  For their reality was an immersive experience in the ethereal to which our somewhat limited perception of the physical plane was merely just a slice.  To that end, a slice which was hardly isolated, because in their kaleidoscopic cosmo-vision, the veils between these realms were exceedingly thin, and the inhabitants of said spaces could easily cross over to impact, influence, and even occupy other layers foreign to their own.  

It is of course, against this rich ontological tapestry and dynamic spiritual landscape, from which the exquisitely crafted productions of our humble gallery sprang forth. We marvel at their creative imagination, awestruck by their unparalleled skill in execution and their deep sense of aesthetic intuition and ingenuity, but is it really any wonder? The religious, mythological, and metaphysical fabric enveloping their entire existence was so prodigious and profound, the ancient science of the sacred (which we happen to call art) was simply a necessary by-product, a channel for them to navigate the infinitely complex realm of the spirit. The propitiation of myriad cthonic deities, gods, and demigods was requisite for maintaining order, and whether it be through building vast temple complexes and sanctuaries, creating countless masterworks of reverence to populate them, or endlessly employing these very works through all manner of service, sacrifice and ritual, what we see today as art was to them an utterly vital form of spiritual technology.  The details of which we will discuss in part II...