It is quite intriguing to think about how valuable pieces of artwork are discovered in flea markets and thrift shops. In addition, some famous historical items have been found by people purely by chance. In one such development, a Texas-based woman came across a piece of art that was a priceless Roman bust.
The Roman bust was a thrift store purchase
As if from a scene from the television program Antiques Roadshow, Laura Young, the art collector from Austin, Texas bought a chipped marble statue worth US$35. She had little idea that the antique item would be a priceless 2000-year-old Roman bust.
King Ludwig I of Bavaria once owned the marble Roman bust. The art was identified by Jörg Deterling, a Sotheby’s consultant. It was initially displayed in a Pompejanum courtyard in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany, but after WWII, it vanished.
Laura is a collector of undervalued artworks and antiques, and she saw the Roman bust while exploring the Goodwill charity store. Laura said she was looking for enticing artwork at the thrift store, and the statue, placed beneath a table, caught her eye. She thought it was a bargain and the design was captivating. However, after taking it home, she realized it was an ancient artwork and assessed its authenticity and origin.
She took the thrift store Roman bust purchase to the University of Texas-Austin and visited several auction houses. After Deterling determined its origin, he helped Laura connect with the German authorities.
Laura said: “My husband and I were on a road trip when I got an email confirming the head was indeed ancient Roman. Soon after that, Sotheby’s got in touch. After a few months of intense excitement, it was bittersweet since I knew I couldn’t keep or sell the [bust]. Either way, I’m glad I got to be a small part of [its] long and complicated history. He looked great in the house while I had him.”
Lost after World War II
While Laura succeeded in tracing the root of the Roman bust and returned it to its home, some mysteries remain. For example, it is unknown how the ancient Roman statue came to Texas. However, it is known that during World War II, the Pompejanum was ravaged by Allied bombers. After the war, the Roman bust disappeared, and it is assumed that a U.S. Army soldier brought it to Texas from Aschaffenburg after the end of the war.
The Bavarian administration president Bernd Schreiber said: “We are very pleased that a piece of Bavarian history that we thought was lost has reappeared and will soon be able to return to its proper location. We want to take this opportunity to thank the San Antonio Museum of Art for their support in returning the ancient portrait.”
Who is it?
It dates to the Julio-Claudian-era, which spans the start of Emperor Augustus’ reign to the end of Emperor Nero’s, or 27 B.C.E. to 68 C.E.
Scholars are divided as to whom the bust actually depicts. Some say it portrays Drusus Germanicus, a Roman commander who lived in the first century B.C.E. and was the younger brother of Tiberius, the second Roman emperor.
Others speculate that the statue is a likeness of Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great, who formed the first triumvirate along with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus. When Caesar became hungry for more power and refused to dismantle his army, he crossed the Rubicon River with his troops and challenged the elder Pompey to a civil war. Caesar eventually emerged victorious, and Pompey the Great was killed. After his father’s death, Sextus continued the battle, but he was eventually executed.
“It’s a portrait of an outlaw, a sort of enemy of the state,” said Lynley McAlpine, a postdoctoral curatorial fellow at the San Antonio Museum of Art. “It’s unusual to have something like this. It’s also interesting that someone preserved it and had it in their collection as a personal enemy to the emperor. That could be dangerous to display something like that.”
