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Meryl recently wrote an article on the fascinating subject of lost civilisations (read the article), today we meet an immense connoisseur of these civilisations and in particular of ancient Egypt.


Jacques Billen is based in Brussels, in his gallery in the Sablon, Harmakhis, he welcomes us to share some time together, to get to know one of the most consulted experts in the world, interview.

LB > Thank you Jacques for giving us this interview in your sublime Harmakhis gallery.
There are many objects on display and they are obviously very old. Can you explain to us your speciality of ancient art?

JB > Indeed, the objects in my gallery are mainly from the Mediterranean Basin (Egypt, Greece, Rome), with a particular emphasis on the art of Pharaonic Egypt.
However, I do not exclude objects coming from other horizons, notably European archaeology in the broadest sense of the term: these are our deep roots.



LB > You are an internationally recognised expert in ancient art. How do you find and select the objects you exhibit in your gallery?

JB > Over the centuries, the Egyptian civilisation, shrouded in mystery, has aroused a great deal of interest... and collections of objects.
In Antwerp, in 1580, an illustration of the Hieroglyphica by Johannes Goropius Becanus shows an Egyptian funerary statuette in a contemporary Antwerp collection. Private collections in the Western world and elsewhere, sometimes in unexpected places - such as the Egyptian objects in the private museum created by the Maharaja of Baroda, India, an example among many others - abound in Egyptian objects and have always been a source of inspiration for dealers and auction houses. When it is not the museums that sell. For a long time, the Cairo Museum devoted one of its rooms to the official sale of archaeological pieces of secondary importance.
I am no exception to the rule and my objects come from private collections, public sales and colleagues from all over the world.
The dealer's "eye" and expertise are essential. In the mass of objects available on the art market that are put up for sale, he chooses, separates the wheat from the chaff. He eliminates the fakes, the mediocre objects, those that have been restored too much, those whose provenance seems doubtful.
He then keeps what he considers to be of aesthetic, historical or cultural interest. This is how I have always proceeded, according to demanding criteria, since I opened my gallery in the Sablon in Brussels in 1988...



LB > In every speciality, there is a "black" market, a parallel channel for art dealers. What is the situation for antique art and how does this traffic impact your profession?

JB > No area of human activity is immune to crime of any kind. The art market also has its gangsters. Recent scandals have hit the headlines and splashed such respectable public collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
These are regrettable but isolated incidents that should not bring shame to our entire segment of the art market. Should, or would, a single corruption scandal in the European Parliament be enough to justify the dissolution of the institution?
The looting of sites, acts of vandalism against cultural property have existed since time immemorial. The famous Leopold II Papyrus in Brussels and its counterpart in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York already relate, at the time of Ramses IX (around 1126-1108 BC), the trial of active looters in the royal tombs of the Theban necropolis.
One should neither generalize nor exaggerate the importance of "leaks" of archaeological objects in Egypt or elsewhere. In the same vein, everyone now agrees that the archaeological trade in no way finances terrorism, as certain circles ill-intentioned towards us have unduly led people to believe, by flooding the media a few years ago.
Like all my colleagues in the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art, and indeed most of the current players in the art market, I am careful about the provenance of my objects and carry out thorough checks, notably with the INTERPOL databases.
Informed collectors are perfectly aware of what is going on and are not overly concerned.


LB > The civilisation of ancient Egypt is your speciality. Why did you choose this period, this civilisation and how did you become one of the world's leading experts on this ancient civilisation and period?

JB > My father played a decisive role in my education. As a collector, he took me with him from a very young age to museums, to museum curators with whom he had a close relationship, to dealers, to auction rooms, to other collectors.
Thus a real passion was born.
It was he who introduced me to the art of Egypt, to the country, to its culture, by taking me - when I was a kid - to discover the trade in ancient art in Egypt, a flourishing trade that was perfectly legal there until 1983.
My studies of archaeology and orientalism at university, with a focus on Egyptology, allowed me to structure practical knowledge of objects acquired long before in the field. Theoretical knowledge is one thing, practical knowledge of objects and their possible authenticity is another.
This is a speciality on the fringes of Egyptology, which is a science whose sole aim is to improve knowledge about a civilisation and not to detect fakes!
If it is true that all over the world I am consulted on this subject, colleagues, collectors and sometimes museums, one must remain absolutely modest. One does not know everything and one learns every day. Overconfidence is the worst thing that can happen to an expert.
Nothing can be taken for granted. Like a pianist who plays scales, the expert has to be at the forefront of the battle at all times and tirelessly practise his expertise to remain at the top of his game.


Really interesting interview, almost magical moment spent in the company of Jacques Billen, surrounded by objects all more unique, rare and ancient than the others, we will continue to explore this so extraordinary subject of lost civilizations in other contents to come!
More information on Jacques Billens : Galerie Harmakhis - Rue des Minimes, 3 - 1000 Brussels.
T. + 32 475 65 02 85.