Introduction
THE BARAKAT GALLERY
A CATALOGUE OF THE COLLECTION
VOLUME I
By Fayez Barakat
The art of collecting ancient artifacts and
coins from all periods of history has become an obsession of mine,
one to which I am entirely dedicated, at times to the consternation
of my loved ones. Collecting has consumed most of my time and thoughts
for more than three decades, since I began learning as a child at
the side of my father, grandfather, and renowned archaeologists.
As the collection has finally taken shape
as a mirror of all ages and cultures, I feel an obligation to it and
wish to share my experience and collection with all others who appreciate
the art of collecting.
I owe much to those who along my path helped
shape my cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic eye of discrimination;
developed my sense of history; and fascinated my mind with their ingenuity,
brilliance, and unusual possessions, obsessions for peoples, cultures,
places, and great historical events. Each one, in his or her own way,
polished a facet of my soul and inflamed my own humble desire to preserve
for posterity the great art, the permanent history of past cultures.
To share with present and future generations
who seek a link with an ethnic bond or merely to touch the lives of
others with a sense of the beauty and truth of the ages, I have collected
and now make available these wonderful works of art, which not only
may be viewed, but touched, enjoyed, and possessed. In this way, I
hope I may repay the enormous debt to my benefactors and contribute
to an understanding of mans awesome heritage of beauty, wisdom
and spiritual history.
FAYEZ BARAKAT
|