Quality Artifacts and Customer Service - Sadigh Gallery Customer Testimonial

I have ordered from Sadigh Gallery several times over the past several years and I have always been happy with the quality of the artifacts and with the customer service.
Written by Paul W.

Your Artifact is Well-Received by My Family - Sadigh Gallery Customer Testimonial

I wanted to write this brief note to express my appreciation in regard to a recent purchase of mine. I can’t tell you how pleased I was (and continue to be) when I opened the package from your gallery and saw the beautiful bottle, which is now on my display in my home. My children agree that the piece is “really cool”. My eldest son even ran to his room to retrieve his history book in order to show us a section that discussed the period in which the bottle was created.

Again, I thank you for enabling me and my family to own a “piece of history” (and such a delightful one at that.)

Steven L. 

Thank You for Your Artifacts - Sadigh Gallery Customer Testimonial

I am pleased with my order. I like the fact that I now own ancient artifacts. My Biblical Archeology professor, whom I gave the link to your site to, was impressed as well. He thought you had an incredible amount of oil lamps from the Holy Land.

Written by Sara J.

Quality and Authenticity Leads To Special Bonds between Collector and Dealer - Sadigh Gallery Customer Testimonial

There are some among us who have a special feeling about history; the thrill of touching, owning, something truly ancient and wonder about the times of their birth, use, and who it belonged to and why.

Perhaps, ultimately, it’s a secret frustration of not being a museum curator. Someone with special access to notable collections and able to develop personal relationships with certain pieces in a special, private way.

These days, it is not easy to do that but there are those among us who can facilitate that special bond; antiquity dealers.  People who share that sense of history and have the knowledge that allows them to be value to prospective buyers.  They can guarantee the quality and authenticity of the artifacts that allows that bond, the sense of satisfaction mentioned above, or something for an investment.

Mr. Sadigh is such a Man and his New York gallery is a very special place.  You can browse to your heart’s content, handle items that speak to you, acquire them, and get questions answered about anything you want to know more about.  Come by, you will be glad you did.

Written by Chris N. 

Ancient Egyptian Writing

The scribes of Egypt used three distinct scripts in their writing: hieratic, hieroglyphic and demotic.  The hieratic and demotic are merely cursive derivatives of hieroglyphics.  By the Roman period, the Coptic, a fourth script was used, which was based on the Greek alphabets and different principles.

The ancient Egyptians called Hieroglyphic scripts “mdju netjer”, which meant “words of the gods”.  Hieroglyphs were the earliest and longest-lived form of Egyptian script.  It is the most familiar to the modern observers when starting in awe at the columned halls at Karnak, the beautiful tomb paintings in the Valley of Kings & Queens, and on sarcophagi and coffins.

The Ibis-headed god Thoth was considered the patron deity of writings and scribes.  A relief from the temple of Ramesses II at Abydos shows the god sitting on a throne, holding a long scribal palette in one hand and in the other, holding the reed with which he is writing.  King Ramesses himself is shown assisting the god by holding an ink pot-like jar.

The first hieroglyphs appeared on labels and pottery objects dating back to about 3100 BCE, in the late Predynastic period and the last glyphs appeared on the island of Philae in a temple inscription carved in 394 ACE.  Originally, hieroglyphs were used to write different kinds of texts on different surfaces, but as hieratic script developed, hieroglyphic script became confined to religious and monumental usage, mostly carved in stones.  The Greeks, upon seeing these temple and other religious inscriptions, called the script “hiera grammata”, which meant “the sacred letters”, or “ta hierogyphica”, which meant “the sacred carved letters”.

A hieroglyphic inscription is arranged on its surface either in columns or in horizontal lines.  There are no punctuation marks or spaces to indicate the divisions between words.  The signs are generally inscribed facing rightward, when appeared in columnar form; they are usually read from right to left.  If they appear in horizontal lines, they are read from upper to lower.

Hieroglyphic script is largely pictorial in character.  Most are recognizable pictures of natural or fabricated objects, often symbolically color-painted.  The ground plan of a simple house, or pr, might stand for the word “house”.  These are called ideograms.

Hieroglyphic script also includes phonograms, sign-words for concepts that cannot be conveyed by a simple picture.  The phonogram is best represented by the “rebus principle”.  A rebus is a message spelled out in pictures that represent sounds rather than the things.

Hieratic were the ancient Egyptian cursive writings, used from the first dynasty (c. 2925 – c. 2755 BC) until about 200 BC.  Derived from the earlier, pictorial hieroglyphic writing used in carved or painted inscriptions, hieratic writings were generally written in ink with a reed pen on papyrus; its cursive form was more suited to such a medium than were the formal hieroglyphs.  It was originally written vertically and later horizontally from right to left.  After about 660 BC, demotic script replaced hieratic in most secular writings, but hieratic continued to be used by priests in the transcriptions of religious texts for several centuries.

Hieratic is an adoption of the hieroglyphic script, the signs being simplified to make their writing quicker.  Hieratic was the administrative and business script throughout most of its history and recorded documents of a literary, scientific and religious nature.  The earliest body of hieratic texts, thus far, is estate records, that date from the Fourth Dynasty. 

Writing was not one, but two inventions: first, the script by itself – a comprehensive series of signs made by a series of brush strokes, capable of representing all the words or sounds of human speech and second, the remarkable invention of the materials used to record, transmit and preserve these scripts, like the papyrus, the pen and the ink. 

The word “Demotic” comes from Greek, which meant “popular script”.  By the Hellenistic period of the Ptolemies, demotic was the only native script in general daily use.  It is very cursive script, having been derived from hieratic, making it difficult to read and almost impossible to transcribe into hieroglyphic context.

Demotic scripts were generally administrative, legal and commercial, though there are a few literary composition as well as scientific and religious scripts.

Sadigh Gallery—Mail Order Antiquity Business

In the previous articles, we discussed about the characteristics of our gallery which make us one-of-a-kind in the highly competitive antiquities business.

Although we have a physical gallery in the heart of New York City which people can walk in at anytime during our business hours, we are mainly a mail-order company.   Because of this nature of our business, we have customers and various networks of dealers and collectors from everywhere in the United States and even overseas.  We often process a large volume wholesale trade with established dealers, but also work closely with individual collectors, schools and museums to fill their specific needs.

Along with a wholesale catalog, we hold 6 mail-in auctions every year. These auction catalogs feature pictures and prices of everything for many different cultures of the ancient world, and gives our customers a chance to purchase unique artifact at price as low as 50% of the listed amount.  Of course you would have to bid higher amount to outbid your competitors but this auction experience certainly makes antiquity collection more interesting. Most of our walk-in trade is catalog customers, some who happen to be in the neighborhood and others who travel from around the country to browse and touch the ancient pieces.

Here at Sadigh Gallery we enjoy dealing with people and hope to keep our gallery as down-to-earth and accessible as possible.  When you visit New York City, be sure to stop by at our gallery.  Even if you are on the other coast, feel free to call us so you will be able to view our collections through our catalogs!

Sadigh Gallery Ancient Art—New York City’s One-of-a-kind Ancient Artifacts Wholesale Dealer

We have been sharing our knowledge on the history of ancient artifacts and cultures for quite some time now, but at this time we would like to come to a brief pause…and instead, write briefly about history of our very own gallery.

Just what exactly is Sadigh Gallery Ancient Art, Inc?

If you have learned about us from the Smithsonian Magazine or any other cultural/history magazines, you may have seen from the ads that we are a wholesaler on antiquities.  We recognize that this fact perks up some interest in people, who must wonder how is it possible for us to wholesale something as valuable and unique as treasured antiquities from ancient societies? Are they not supposed to be collected and secured safely in museums?   We must admit we do receive many questions from our visitors. One of the reasons why a question like this is common, is perhaps because of the general notion that everything that ancient and found in archaeological digs are rare and, therefore, expensive.  Museums often make us think that way too, having pieces of ancient jewelries showcased behind highly guarded glass windows.   While some artifacts--such as ancient Egyptian sarcophagus fragments from funeral grounds of pharaohs-- are indeed exclusive and may cost well over thousands in auctions, most are not so as highly valued.   The reason of this is simple: People in ancient times generally lived the same way as we did although in much simpler ways. People had items that they would use daily, such as currency, jewelry, coins, and pottery.  These types of items were owned by common people were produced in mass numbers, and, these are the artifacts that we mainly deal with.   Ancient coins are maybe available from $20.00 and up.  Broken pieces of abundantly produced pottery or glass vessels can be purchased as low as $10 each.   Such items may not be diamonds yet they attribute historical values, and are popular among creative jewelers who would rearrange these finds in modern beautiful jewelry or ornamental settings.   Sometimes, the quality or the history of an artifact does affect the price.  For example: An ancient Egyptian ushabtis made of alabaster for higher officials which still retain clear hieroglyphs, is available for sale over $1000 range.   Even so we gladly offer discounts and chances for public to purchase exclusive items for lower prices during our bi-monthly auctions.

Sadigh Gallery has accumulated the collection of these artifacts over 30 years in New York, and even more—the family-owned gallery has been running for several generations.   In next update we will discuss farther about our unique antiquities business method, which can be categorized as a mail order business. 

In the meantime, feel free to visit our gallery website at: www.sadighgallery.com  to view our extensive collection of ancient artifacts.

Sadigh Gallery’s New Ancient Chinese Jade Collection

Sadigh Gallery has recently acquired an estate collection of ancient jade Lohan statues from 1300’s AD.

So what exactly are these Lohans that we are talking of?   Lohans (also known as Arhats) are the 18 followers of Buddhism’s “Eightfold Path”, who have reached the state of complete freedom from worldly desires  and were no longer subject to reincarnation. Their saintly characteristics are sometimes regarded as similar to guardian angels of western world, and are thought to protect people from all kinds of evil.    Each Lohan embodies philosophy of life, and the statues/drawings of them are often placed in Buddhist temples for people to open themselves to spiritual exploration.

The translated names of the eighteen Lohans are: 

Deer Sitting Lohan: Signifies spiritual awakening

Happy Lohan:  Bringer of eternal happiness, dispels any obstacles that prevents one from happiness

Raised Bowl Lohan: The begging bowl signifies humility, and teaches that if one could only be rich spiritually, he/she may reach eternal happiness. 

Raised Pagoda Lohan: Bringer of auspiciousness

Meditating Lohan: Enhances the serenity of the home.

Oversea Lohan: Lohan who spread the teachings of Buddha overseas, the father of Japanese zen Buddhism, and the master of martial arts

Elephant Riding Lohan: Bringer of fortune, the elephant is a symbol of victory over evil forces

Laughing Lion Lohan: Embodies compassion and wisdom. The lion is the powerful protector against worldly disturbances. 

Open Heart Lohan: Represents purity of the mind

Raised Hand Lohan: Bring harmony among the siblings.

Thinking Lohan: Brings blessing through meditation

Scratched Ear Lohan: Symbolizes purification of the sense of hearing in search for peace and quiet. 

Calico Bag Lohan: Protects one from evil of the world

Plantain Lohan: Bringer of the guru

Long Eyebrow Lohan: Embodies virtues and wisdom.

Doorman Lohan: Teaches one that one must practice diligently in order to eradicate the greed, anger and ignorance in one's mind

Taming Dragon Lohan: Symbolizes bravery and wisdom

Taming Tiger Lohan: Teaches one to overcome the “tiger”-- desire, greed, anger and hatred-- in one’s mind.

It is a rare occasion for us to obtain a full collection of  18 Lohan statues that are still in a beautiful condition.  View our collection at our website here:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=lohan

Ancient Chinese Jade Artworks

The Chinese have had a love affair with Jade - and other beautiful stones - for thousands of years. The appeal of Jade to the ancient Chinese was due to its toughness, luster, multiplicity of colors and the transformation it underwent when heated. The burning of Jades in pre-burial cremation ceremonies was essential for members of the ruling class in many areas and periods of ancient China. Confucius compared the qualities of Jade to those of a cultured man. The appreciation of archaic Chinese Jades involves more than just the enjoyment of their solemn aloofness and brilliant luster. One must look beyond their physical properties - what can be seen and touched - to the metaphysical spirit that they embody. This spirit is born of the Chinese veneration of heaven and ancestors. It grows moreover from a culture that seeks to live in harmony with nature.

With the exception of a few simple objects like round and flat discs with central holes (called Bi or pi, symbolizing Heaven, and deriving from early sun-worship) and drilled beads for stringing, the earliest Jades are prohibitively rare.

Starting about 2,000 BC the population in China was expanding, and with it the demand for and ability to find and transport the raw stone (usually from far away places) to craft centers where fine Jade objects were created for the arising nobility. Being a large and diverse land, the Chinese found many raw materials suitable for object creation, all of which were called Yu.

“Stone of heaven” is a term used by the Chinese to describe what they view as the most precious of gems - Jade. To understand the importance of Jade to the Chinese is to gain insight into their culture and history. Jade is woven into the very fabric of Chinese ethos and it has been from the earliest Neolithic cultures that thrived in what became known as China.

It is only recent, owing to controlled archaeological digs of the last few decades and the use of modern scientific dating techniques, that it has become clear that Jade work in China extends back over a long period prior to the Shang era. In fact, Chinese archaic Jades of the Bronze Age and later are the product of a long development process, extending so far back through the Neolithic period (to about 5500 B.C.) that the period of Jade working before the Shang era now appears to be longer than what used to be considered the classic period of archaic Jades, i.e. the Shang to Western Han.

Please enjoy our collection of fine  jade artworks from ancient Chinese era:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=jade&catid=9