She had bought the sculpture for 34.99 dollars (about 33 euros) to decorate her garden.

Laura Young, an American, actually acquired a priceless piece of Roman art in 2018. This bust was on sale at a second-hand store in Texas (USA),

The Art Newspaper

reports .

Made of marble and dating back to the 1st century AD, it was part of the collection of a museum in Bavaria.

It would have disappeared during the Second World War, probably stolen, before landing on the other side of the Atlantic.

“He looked dirty and quite old,” Laura Young told the magazine.

It is thanks to her research that she goes back in time and discovers the origins of the statue.

She also contacts an auction house and experts confirm that she has unearthed an exceptional piece.

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Found in a Texan Goodwill for $34.99, a looted first-century Roman bust will be returned to Germany after going on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art @SAMAart https://t.co/qBt9oFCfTJ

— The Art Newspaper (@TheArtNewspaper) May 8, 2022


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An agreement reached with the buyer

The sculpture would represent either Drusus Germanicus, a Roman general, or a son of Pompey the Great.

It belonged in the 1940s to the Pompejanum museum in Aschaffenburg, before disappearing at the end of the war.

An agreement has been reached between Laura Young and the German authorities, who should recover the bust in about a year.

Laura Young will benefit from a “small intermediary commission”.

The artwork is currently on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art (Texas).

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