Bought statue for $35 and it turned out to be an ancient Roman effigy

Laura Young is a woman who owns an antique store. One of her activities, therefore, is constantly visiting pawnshops and ‘flea markets’ in her area, near Austin, Texas, USA.

And it was precisely in one of those searches for old things that found in a market a rare carved bust weighing 52 pounds, very old and dirtyfor which he paid 35 dollars without knowing that it was a treasure.

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The marble bust, which was purchased in 2018, it turned out to be a Roman effigy from the first century AD, apparently of the ancient commander Drusos Germanicus. An analysis by Sotheby’s experts revealed that the bust belonged to a German museum collection.

But how did an ancient Roman bust, from a museum in Germany, end up in a ‘flea market’ in Texas, USA?

There is no clear detail of the journey of the Roman bust to that country. The only indication is around the Second World War, after bombings in the area of ​​Bavaria, where possibly allied military would have looted art from museums and collectors private at the time.

According to The Newspaper, which records the news, 20 percent of all art in Europe was looted by the Nazis during the war.

I had already fished other treasures

Laura Young searched since 2018 for art experts to analyze the marble bust she bought as a trinket When New York art experts finally confirmed his suspicions about him, they in turn recommended that he not try to sell it, since United States law prohibits such transactions and he ran many risks on the black market.

After negotiating with the German museum that will receive back the work for the costs of storage, packaging and a plaque with his name, Young decided to return the effigy, not if it was first exhibited in the art museum san antonio texas.

In the past, Laura Young had bought an old Chinese painting as a trinket which turned out to be an ancient work that Christie’s managed to sell for $63,000 (about $256 million).

Source: Elcomercio

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