Oh the joys of being an ancient art dealer! Item Number: 100105 $0.00

DescriptionFor all of you who envy the “glamorous” job of being an ancient art dealer, let me try to give you a taste of what it’s like to hit the road and go on a buying trip. You may just change your mind on what a fabulous life we lead…

A little background info. I have been working on a major deal of Greek ceramics from a gentleman in Florida going on 3+ years. Last year, about this time, we thought we had the deal completed and I flew off to view the collection in person and negotiate final terms. For a number of reasons, I came back empty handed. Lo and behold, a year later and the deal is back on again, under the same terms I had proposed last year.

So here we go again. I have a flight that leaves Denver Friday at 7:30 a.m., meaning I get up at 4:30 to make sure I am at the airport by 6:00 a.m. I have to bring two huge (empty) commercial cases with me, plus a backpack for my clothes. Schlepping through airports with that much luggage is always a joy. And, since I am not flying Southwest Airlines that means I have to pop $50 for the baggage fees. It’s a 3 hour flight, but I can’t sleep on airplanes so I will read everything I can get my hands on, sit in very uncomfortable seats, and basically be bored stiff for most of the flight – praying we don’t pass through any storms along the way (did I mention I hate to fly!!).

I arrive in Florida just after noon. Because of lack of sleep, I will feel like crap. And, because I am fighting a cold, that means I will feel like double crap! By the time I get my luggage and get into a rental car, another fun-filled hour in the airport will pass. Since my appointment is on Saturday, I am heading up the coast to see another old dealer friend to see what he might have. I am actually looking forward to seeing him, but since I am tapping most of my resources to buy the one collection, bucks will be tight. Bucks are always tightest when great things are offered to me – Murphy Law #68.

After visiting my old friend, it’s off to the other side of Florida. Some of you probably recognize that going across Florida isn’t as easy as – well driving across the state. Damn swamps happen to block the Interstate highway system from going in straight directions. A drive that should take 90 minutes will take double that. Did I mention how tired I am? And I’m not even doing it yet!

I arrive at my destination probably close to midnight. Even staying at a relatively nice hotel like a Hyatt is not like sleeping in my own bed. As I get older, I seem to sleep less as it is. Put me in a strange hotel, I’m lucky if I sleep 3 solid hours.

Saturday, I hit the collection bright and early. Since we are talking over 200 pieces, you have to allow for plenty of time to check that everything is there, the conditions are still as they were a year ago, to consummate the deal, recheck for authenticity (just in case), complete contracts – and of course, do the packing. And speaking of packing, that’s the most fun you can have without having your teeth pulled (sorry, David!).

When you are packing 200 pieces of pottery plus a couple monster pieces of stone and metal, there are little things to consider such as:

1. Breakage. The prospect of breaking ancient art is always troubling for me, but magnify that times 200!
2. Cost of shipping, supplies, my time…
3. Logistics of getting them from point A (a house) to point B (a shipper) using a smallish midsize sedan. That means I will undoubtedly have to take a few trips. Packing them once for the initial movement and again to make sure they arrive at Artemis safely – and doing all this on a Saturday hoping there will be a shipper close by, supplies close by and enough time in the day to do it all!