You know a good deal when you see one, they say.
And Texas Goodwill shopper Laura Young claims she couldn’t pass up the $34.99 bust that sat quietly on a shelf.
After she did a little digging about the 52-pound marble bust, she realized it might be quite special, indeed.
After contacting an auction house, Sotheby’s confirmed that the bust was actually from Roman times, a sculpture of Sextus Pompey, a Roman military leader. Pompey’s father was indeed an ally of Julius Caesar himself.
A pretty remarkable discovery at a store that sells used tablecloths and VCRs.
The portrait displayed in the courtyard of the Pompejanum, Aschaffenburg, 1931.
The remarkable find is now on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art, but will be returned to Germany in 2023 to find a home at the rebuilt Pompejanum.
Quite the journey Sextus Pompey’s bust has made.
Looted Roman bust, bought from Texas secondhand store for $34.99, will be returned to Germany
courtesy Laura Young