Anthony Panayi discovered his love of auction houses and antiques a teenager.

“I was visiting antique shops in my early teens, going to auctions, travelling and buying and selling as well as collecting,” he says. “I was always collecting.

“I did my first overseas buying trip in the ’90s, to Saint Ouen in France, and ever since then I’ve been an absolute addict of the business.”

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Panayi recently opened Atlas Gallery in Brunswick to showcase hand-picked treasures accumulated over years of collecting. He stocks antiques, modernist furniture and decorative objects sourced from around the world – mostly from Europe.

Alongside an ornate Italian Liberty chair dating to 1912, you’ll find a whimsical French iron lead-light lantern, and jewel-green Murano glass bottles by contemporary master craftsman Luigi Camozzo.

Panayi visits Italy, Belgium and France twice a year to find new treasures. Every item in the store has been hand-picked by Panayi on one of his buying trips.

The things Panayi buys need to have “the ‘it’ factor” he says. “[they] need to make me want to walk towards them, and if that feeling stays with me, it’s on my list.”

He says he is mostly drawn to 20th-century objects, with “a sprinkling of antique”.

“With the buying and selling and collecting over the years, there’s always been a desire to show to the public. All of the items are one-off – I don’t buy anything mass-produced.”

Atlas Gallery
15 Sparta Place, Brunswick
0402 911 117

Hours
Mon & Tues by appointment
Weds to Sun 11am–3pm

atlasgallery.com.au