Galerie Mermoz

Founded in 1970 by Santo Micali, Galerie Mermoz specializes in Pre-Columbian art. Its expertise spans Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean—encompassing more than 3,000 years of artistic and archaeological history.

The gallery is committed to selecting only the very finest works in its field. It thus focuses on unique ritual and ceremonial works, remarkable for their rarity and quality, primarily from Mesoamerica, and permanently displays pieces from the Olmec, Mezcal, Maya, Nayarit, Colima, Jalisco, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec cultures.

Inspired by the spark in 1968, at the age of 22, Santo Micali began his career two years later. Based on Rue Jean Mermoz (Paris 8th arrondissement) from 1970 to 1988, he then moved to Rue du Cirque, just a stone’s throw from the Élysée Palace.

It is here, in this temple reminiscent of a Venetian palace—a setting perfectly suited to the solemnity of his art—that the dealer has, for over 50 years, welcomed exceptional archaeological artifacts and all those who appreciate the genius of the civilizations that preceded the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Internationally renowned, Santo Micali counts among his clients high-profile private collectors and renowned institutions.

A significant number of the masterpieces that have passed through his hands are now housed in prestigious museums around the world. Among them are the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris, the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in Geneva, the Miho Museum in Kyoto, the Israel Museum, and the Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp, to which Baroness Dora Janssen donated her extraordinary collection. Of the 400 pieces in this major collection, some thirty come from the Galerie Mermoz.