Good Things Come in Small Packages… Item Number: 100022 $0.00

Description…well, at least that’s what my wife always tells me (I’m not sure this is a compliment). But, when it comes to ancient art, if you’ve never considered miniatures, I can tell you great things really can come in small packages!

Personally, we started to get into miniatures when the economy started to “fizzle,” and I wanted to continue buying and did not have the funds to go for “full-size” pieces. This may amaze some people, but we, too, have experienced first-hand the impact that the economic bust has had on so many of our very good clients. With so many of our clients buying less (or not buying at all), we found ourselves able to buy less – and being very careful about what we did buy. Hence our re-discovery of miniatures.

As the name implies, ancient miniatures are simply smaller representations of full-sized works of art. Amazingly, just about every ancient culture produced these mini pieces. We have seen incredible examples from the Greeks, Egyptians, Etruscans, Romans, Moche, Nazca, Colima, Mayans, Incas, Pre-Historic Native Americans, etc. They come in stone, glass, pottery, metals, textiles, bones, shells, and basketry. In many cases the technical expertise required to produce the art in miniature exceeded or certainly met the expertise one normally sees in their full-sized counterparts.

Many theories abound on why some of these small-sized pieces were created. It is thought some of the Greek Xenon-Type pottery was created as toys for children, or were offered as grave offerings for children. But others have offered that they were created so those having to travel long distances could place grave offerings in the tombs, and miniatures were much easier to carry. Miniatures were also certainly far cheaper to buy, and if money was tight when a loved one died, it was certainly more economical to place miniatures in the tomb than their full-sized cousins. We know miniatures were often used as votives placed in temples as representations of gods, and were often made as representations of body-parts when one needed the gods to intervene with a cure. Miniatures were also used as good-luck “charms” and carried by individuals on long trips, or battle. Pre-Columbian mummies have been found in the high Andes mountains with miniature silver figures and llamas – as gifts to Pachamama and Pachapapa.

When buying ancient miniatures, use the same common sense that you would use when buying full-sized items. Here are a few good rules:

1. Buy quality. Like every other type of ancient item, aim for the best quality you can for the money. Just because it’s a small item does not mean you want to scrimp on quality detailing!
2. Condition is always important. Because of their diminutive size, miniatures tend to stay in better condition than larger items, but check condition carefully!
3. Buy what YOU love! My advice on every piece of art that you buy – buy it because it makes you SMILE!

If funds are tight – or just because you love art in miniature – maybe miniatures are right for you!

Happy collecting!
Bob Dodge