About Us

Jean-David Cahn AG is based in Basel, with large exhibition spaces at Malzgasse 23 which can be viewed by appointment. The gallery at Via Maistra 11, in the centre of St. Moritz, was inaugurated in 2006 and is open for the winter and summer seasons.

Jean-David Cahn AG was founded in 1999 and continues a proud family tradition which reaches back for almost 150 years. The first catalogues of the Münzhandlung Cahn appeared in 1863 in Frankfurt am Main. After Hitler ascended to power, the company was forcefully arianised. The family emigrated to Basel and refounded the company. It was succeeded by Münzen und Medaillen in 1941. In 1988 Herbert A. Cahn, Honorary Professor of Numismatics at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg im Breisgau, spun off the antiquities department and founded H.A.C. Kunst der Antike. Following Herbert A. Cahn’s retirement, the company was dissolved in 1998. Subsequently, a new company, Jean-David Cahn AG, was formed by his son. Jean-David Cahn retained his father’s specialisation in ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian art. In addition to this, he endeavoured to create a dialogue with other forms of art. This lead to interdisciplinary exhibitions such as „Apollon und Dionysos“ (1999) and „Augenblick und Ewigkeit“ (2004) with the renowned dealer in old master paintings, Konrad Bernheimer.

Jean-David Cahn studied Classical Archaeology in Basel. In 1988 he worked for the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, whose collection of arms and armour he published. He also contributed to the catalogue of the exhibition „Glories of the Past: Ancient Art from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Collection“ which was shown at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1990.

Jean-David Cahn joined Sir John Boardman in Oxford to prepare his doctorate on decorated arms and armour in 1989. He was Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College from 1990-1996. Furthermore, he is a founding member of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art and a sought-after expert in questions on the art trade. He has, for instance, advised the Council of Europe. He is currently preparing a publication on the arms and armour in The Sackler Museums, Harvard University, and directs various Vetting Committees on ancient art, for instance that of TEFAF Maastricht. He is also a Board Member of IADAA, VSAK and TEFAF.