Elena Lopatina

POINTS OF VIEW

E. LOPATINA
THE ANTIQUE ART MARKET IN RUSSIA ACCORDING TO GELOS

№2 2004 (03)

Not long ago the antique market has shown some signs of revival, following the traditions that existed in pre-revolutionary Russia. The high-profile Russian art auction held by Sotheby’s in Moscow in 1988 encouraged the start of new Russian businesses involved in trading works of art. By 1993 the number of auction houses in Moscow had reached as many as five, to say nothing of numerous antique shops and galleries. Works of art, which had long been either the decoration of the Communist party highranking officials’ apartments, or rubbish lying idle in dusty attics as the cast-off legacy of the Russian Empire, were brought to light and put on sale.