WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. —  Like many of the items exhibited at Barakat Gallery, the gallery itself is the last of its kind. A fifth-generation family business, Barakat specializes in selling antiquities from all over the world. 

“This is a Guanacaste-Nicoya Saurian deity from Costa Rica, and it was produced between the 5th Century AD and the 10th Century AD,” said Barakat Gallery Director Paul Henderson. “This is a transformation figure in between a reptile, a bird, and a human and as you can see here, it is holding a human head.”

Henderson spends his days surrounded by ancient art, many thousands of years old. After growing up near Big Bear, he studied religion and non-Western art at University of California San Diego, so becoming the gallery director of an ancient art collection is a bit kismet.  

“I love getting to work with these artifacts because they cover religion, art and history and all of these three things go hand-in-hand,” said Henderson. “Art that is historical is talking about religion and the beliefs and the cosmologies of people throughout time.”    

Barakat Gallery is the largest ancient art collection in the world for sale, but it came from humble beginnings. It started 125 years ago when the Barakat family sold artifacts back in the Middle East.

As the collection grew, they opened their first gallery in Jerusalem in the 50s and have since expanded to Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Abu Dhabi. Their current exhibit shows the similarities between numerous ancient cultures.

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“So ‘The Art of Transformation’ features objects from all over the world which in many ways are shamanic power objects,” said Henderson. “They show art and artifacts which are the fusion between humanity and the zoomorphic worlds of the worlds of animals, plants, and people.”

Every item at Barakat is legally excavated and recorded, but selling antiquities can be challenging, especially when artifacts can be found on the grey market.

“We're trying to focus on bringing in new collectors, a younger generation that has an interest and appreciation for this material,” said Henderson. “And it should be a valued part of people's lives, connecting with the roots, their culture and our history and just showing people that, you know, this is something that is important and it should continue to be valued for the generations moving on.”

Just like religion, art is transformative.