“Antiques Stanković” was established in 1999 as the premier antiques shop in Kotor, with the premises at the Maritime Museum of Montenegro in the Old Town.

   Dušan Stanković, the founder of “Antiques Stanković”, is the expert witness for antiques specialized for silver, porcelain and glass, an antiques dealer and auctioneer with an international carrier.

   Melisa Niketić manages the antiques shop since 2005. After studying art history at Belgrade University, she graduated from the Institute for Art and Restoration “Palazzo Spinelli” in Florence (Italy) specializing in the restoration of antique furniture.

    Since the beginning our aim was to present in the best manner the extensive local artistic and cultural heritage. We tend to recreate the atmosphere of the interiors of great Baroque palaces from Boka Bay. Our carefully selected collection of antiques reflects the taste of wealthy families who formed the elite of local society in the past.  

   The course of the history of Boka Bay, situated in the south of Adriatic coast, with an ideal strategic position of a strait hidden and protected by surrounding mountains, has always been different in comparison to the rest of the Balkans. Glorious maritime past of Boka Bay is still present in the everyday life. Boka Bay was a meeting point of diverse influences and cultures, such as Western European world, Levant, as well as the remote exotic Eastern lands. The turbulent history of the most of the Balkans, which were under the long-lasting rule of the mighty Ottoman Empire, reflected also on the life in Boka Bay. Boka Bay officially became part of Montenegro only after 1945, but the mutual political relations were always complex and intense. All of those circumstances contributed to the creating of unique cultural climate resulting in the presence of a wide range of diverse artefacts in everyday environment.

      The comprehensive collection of local jewellery is of the prime interest for our international clients. The major part of the collection consists of refined silver filigree jewellery. Filigree is a genuine local craft used to be practised in many small towns alongside the Adriatic coast, but also in the Balkan mainland. Demanding, difficult, and highly elaborated filigree technique reached the peek of perfection in this area, but gradually it completely ceased since the skilful masters of the past couldn’t transmit their craft to new generations of jewellers. Our examples date from the 18^th to the early 20^th century when filigree technique was still normally practised and used to be the obligatory part of the master exam for every apprentice.  

     The Christian religion has always been deeply rooted among the local inhabitants of the Balkans, despite the constant threat from Ottoman Empire and the long-lasting struggle for regaining the freedom of some Balkan regions. Boka Bay is of special interest because of the presence of both Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions. That is shown by our collection of religious objects which consists of Orthodox icons painted in the traditional egg tempera technique on wooden panels and of small size bronze traveller’s icons, as well as of superb examples of 18^th century Baroque silver sanctuary lamps made under the strong influence of Italian masters. 

     Of special interest is our ethnographic collection which reveals the fascinating and unique folk arts and crafts combining local Christian tradition and exotic Levant influences brought by the Ottoman pervasion. This collection is formed by Sarkoy (or Pirot) kilims, carved wood objects for everyday use in a household such as spindles, and copperware reflecting Ottoman taste.  

     Glorious maritime past is represented in our collection by various artefacts and documents such as: original mariner’s chests, maritime maps with hand written remarks of the captains, books on naval subject, maritime clocks, compasses and other equipment.  

     Turbulent military history is represented by the unique and rare collection of militaria. Our most representative example from this collection is the characteristic late 18^th - early 19^th century flintlock gun covered with engraved silver called “ledenica”, produced in Kotor as a status symbol of the captains and the highest rank officers.

      Western European trends are represented by our collection of decorative objects and furniture, covering a wide range of styles and époques such as: Baroque, Rococo, Biedermeier, Jugendstil, Vienna Secession and Art Deco.

   We are also present at Aman Resort St. Stephen, where we have regular summer selling exhibition. Here is represented the collection of unique artefacts covering many subjects of antique collecting. In our Aman collection the special accent is given to the refined local silver and gilt silver jewellery, authentic ethnographic artefacts, militaria of historical importance, and objects of royal provenance.    

   We have a practise to acquire specific artefacts on demand for museums or private clients, and further consulting the experts on the required subjects.   

   Our policy is to provide our clientele with highly professional service which includes the guarantee of authenticity and a written certificate for every purchased item.

 Apart of antique dealing we are specialized for organising auctions and we established the tradition of art and antiques auctions held at the Maritime Museum of Montenegro, in Kotor, with which we have uninterrupted and prolific collaboration for many years.  

    During the course of the previous decade we were present at Belgrade Hyatt Regency Hotel and Hotel Metropol Palace (also in Belgrade, Serbia).