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Kicker - Goodwill treasure

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WORLD Radio - Kicker - Goodwill treasure

Texas woman finds an antique Roman bust at her local thrift shop


This undated photo shows a marble bust that a Texas woman bought for about $35 from a Goodwill store San Antonio Museum of Art via Associated Press

NICK EICHER, HOST: A Texas woman recently bought something for $35 at a Goodwill store in San Antonio that, as it turned out wasn’t what she thought it was.

It was a marble bust of man with no markings to help identify the subject.

Art collector and dealer Laura Young thought she was buying cool, potentially valuable sculpture. But Sotheby’s auction house discovered there was a lot more potential there. Turns out it’s an ancient piece of Roman history.

She found out that the bust once belonged in the collection of the Bavarian King Ludwig I.

The sculpture has been missing since World War II. It was last seen in Germany, and experts believe a soldier took the sculpture and brought it to the United States.

Unfortunately, that means Ms. Young cannot keep or sell the bust. And she told KXAN that’s kind of a bummer.

YOUNG: Cuz at first, you know, I’m a dealer. I bought him expecting to sell him.

But on the other hand...

YOUNG: I’m glad that Sothebys did their due diligence. I’m thrilled that I wasn’t accidentally part of like a war crime.

The bust is now being displayed in a museum until it’s returned to Germany.

It’s The World and Everything in It.


WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.

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