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While the label might say $ 34.99 (about $ 44 Cdn), it turns out that finding a woman in the grocery store was really invaluable.
In 2018, Laura Young was looking at a second-hand shop in Austin, Texas, when a marble bust (sculpture from the shoulders and above) hidden under a table caught her eye.
As an antique dealer, Young knows how to tell when something is old and this bust, which weighs about 23 pounds and is carved in marble, is definitely old.
It took her several years to realize how old and precious it really is.
He learned that the bust is actually a piece of history that is best done in a museum.
Laura Young poses with her torso. It was named after Dennis Reynolds from a character in the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. (Image credit: @ TempleOfVintage / Instagram)
Where does it come from?
The bust is about 2,000 years old.
Prior to the thrift store, experts at the San Antonio Museum of Art say the last time he saw it was shortly before World War II in Bavaria, a German state.
The bust on display at Yang’s house. (Image credit: @ TempleOfVintage / Instagram)
In the 1840s, the then King of Bavaria, Louis I, had built a palace that looks like an ancient Roman house and the bust was used as a decoration in it.
How did it end up in Texas?
Experts at the San Antonio Museum of Art said an American soldier serving in World War II probably took it home as a souvenir and probably ended up donating it to a second-hand shop by someone who did not know its significance.
Young said she knew there was something special about this bust, but it took her a long time to figure out what it was.
To get some help, contact museums and auction houses that sell works of art.
Together, the following years passed to compose and validate the history of the bust.
While waiting to find out, Yang put the bust in her house.
When it was confirmed that the bust was the real deal, Young discovered that she could not keep it or sell it because it had been stolen and had to be returned to Bavaria.
The bust on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The painting behind it shows a picture of the place where it was located in the Bavarian palace where it was housed. (Image credit: @ TempleOfVintage / Instagram)
So where did he go?
Yang and the Bavarian government reached an agreement that Yang would be paid a search fee to locate the bust and return to Bavaria next year.
Bavaria is a state in Germany. It was once a separate country with its own royal family. (Image: Philip Street / CBC)
The process is called repatriation.
Until then, it is on display at the Art Museum of San Antonio.
The bust on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art. He will be there for a year and then return to Bavaria. (Image credit: @ TempleOfVintage / Instagram)
Young said it was “bitter” to leave the bust, but she was happy to find the artwork.
“[I was] I’m glad I became a small part of it [its] long and complicated story, and he looked great at home as long as I had him. “
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With files from the Associated PressTOP IMAGE CREDIT: @ TempleOfVintage / Instagram
