While the dictionary states that an antiquity is simply an old object, something collectible, decorative, valuable, or interesting, that dates from a previous era, the true definition of antiquity (from an ancient art perspective) is much more precise. Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Mesolithic, and other civilizations from Asia and elsewhere may also be covered by the term.

Collecting the art and artifacts of cultures long-past has been a passion for tens of thousands of individuals, and has been practiced for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks were passionate about the arts of the Egyptians who preceded them by 500 to 5000 years, and the ancient Romans loved all things Greek, even going so far as to create and sell Greek forgeries of art originally made 500+ years earlier.