At the flea market: a collector buys a bust at a ridiculous price – it is 2000 years old
Created: 05/18/2022, 05:51
By: Johannes Welte
Laura Young with the bust she bought at a flea market © Instagram Temple of vintage/Laura Young
You can truly call that a stroke of luck!
At a flea market, a woman buys a battered-looking bust - it comes from a royal collection.
Houston/Munich - "I was just looking for something that looked interesting," Texan Laura Young recalled to
CNN
on the day she discovered a battered bust in a charity bazaar in Houston in 2018 and for $34.99 (€33.52).
"It was a bargain and there was no reason not to grab it."
Flea market in Houston: bust at a ridiculous price - 2000 years old
She didn't know what the marble head was all about.
But somehow she was curious about what the 52 pound (approx. 24 kilogram) bust was all about.
She began to suspect that it was something special.
After four years she turned to the art museum in San Antonio (Texas).
She also contacted auction houses and experts to find out anything about the stone head.
Finally, the London auction house Sotheby's found what it was looking for in its New York branch: it is a bust from ancient Rome, around 2000 years old!
A specialist combed through digital databases and finally found photos of the marble head from the 1930s, taken in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany!
The Pompejanum in Aschaffenburg, built for King Ludwig I of Bavaria © Salino01 /Wikipedia
What Young couldn't know: She had purchased a bust that once belonged to the Bavarian King Ludwig I (1786-1868).
He was a great fan of antiquity and had a replica of a villa of Roman Pompeii built on a rock above the Main in Aschaffenburg, where he enjoyed the mild climate in the Johannisburg Castle - the city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD .was buried with ashes and was dug up again from the middle of the 18th century.
Ludwig's court architect Friedrich von Gärtner built the Pompejanum between 1840 and 1848.
Flea market Texas: The bust came from the collection of the Bavarian King Ludwig I.
"The bust found its place there when the building was completed in 1850," reports Martin Schweiger, spokesman for the Bavarian Palace Administration, which also oversees the Pompejanum.
Other ancient busts also adorned the Roman villa.
During the Second World War, the Pompejanum was badly damaged - by bombing raids on Aschaffenburg and artillery fire at the end of the war.
The art treasures exhibited in the Pompejanum had been stored in bomb-proof depots.
Artwork belonged to Ludwig I. - Bust shows a contemporary of Julius Caesar
In the post-war period, traces of the bust believed to represent Sextus Pompey (67 BC - 35 BC), a military leader from the time of Julius Caesar, are lost.
But how did the bust get to America?
"Since it ended up in the US, it seems likely that an American stationed there got their hands on it," San Antonio Museum of Art's Lynley McAlpine told CNN.
(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Register here.)
Flea Market Achievement: How Did the Marble Head Get to Texas?
Laura Young would also like to know how the bust got to Texas.
She wants to get to know the stranger who gave the bust to the store.
"I would really love it if the donor would come forward," Young said.
"It's most likely not the person who kidnapped him, but I'd still like to know the story."
Ludwig I. - The work of art returns to Bavaria
Incidentally, the bust still belongs to the Free State of Bavaria.
It is now on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
She is scheduled to return to Aschaffenburg next year.
People in Bavaria are already looking forward to:
“The Bavarian Palace Administration is very happy about the rediscovery of a piece of Bavarian history that was believed to be lost.
We would like to thank the San Antonio Museum of Art for their support in returning the antique portrait,” said the spokesman for the palace administration, Martin Schweiger.
Will Laura Young get rich now?
Schweiger: "Confidentiality has been agreed on the modalities of the return."
All news and stories from Bavaria can now also be found on our brand new Facebook page Merkur Bayern.