The International Antiques Institute

The International Antiques Institute, established by the ASG investment group of companies in 2011, is an example of the investing principles’ practical implementation in the preservation of cultural heritage objects, which its owner Alexei Semin and his corporation have been developing for twenty-seven years.

The main activities of the International Antiques Institute are the study of the Great Assembly fine arts collections (attribution, provenance, art history analysis, searching for analogues, etc.), the storage and restoration of the works of art, the popularization of the MIA (mezhdunarodniy institute antiquevariata – Russian name of this museum) collections, and the promotion of ideas for the private collecting of works of art and philanthropy.

The MIA collections basis was the large ASG collection of fine arts, unique both in volume (today it has more than 6,000 pieces of art) and in composition. It presents paintings, samples of furniture, and decor, the analogues of which were in the interiors of palaces, castles, and the richest aristocratic mansions and noble estates of Russia, and today they are the pride of the largest Russian and foreign museum collections. A large ASG collection of fine arts is represented by the following collections:

– Western European furniture (over 2,500 items) dating from the 15th – 19th centuries in all “great” art styles – renaissance, baroque, rococo, neoclassicism, empire, eclecticism;

– European paintings of old masters (more than 1,300 paintings) of France, Italy, Flanders, Holland, England, Spain, and Germany in all genres and main styles of fine art;

– clocks of the European masters – mantelpieces, floor-standing, cartels, etc. (about 300 storage units);

– artistic bronze: sculpture, lighting, cabinet accessories, household items, etc. (over 400 items);

– silver (about 600 items) and porcelain (over 300 items);

– trellis (28 storage units). This collection is one of the most significant, not only among private, but also state museums.

The International Antiques Institute also carries out publishing activities, for which ASG mass media editors and a publishing center have been created in its structure. Since 2013, the Institute has been publishing a quarterly scientific journal, “World of Art: Bulletin of the International Antiques Institute.” Electronic versions of catalogs revealing various collections of ASG’s large collection of fine arts are available at www.int-ant.ru.