A 52 pound, 1st-century Roman marble bust turned up in a Texas store. Having been sold to a local woman for $34.99, the ancient artifact will now be returned to Germany.
In 2018, Laura Young, the owner of a vintage goods store in Austin, Texas, visited the Goodwill store looking for curios to resell. She discovered the 52-pound carved marble bust amidst heaps of junk and bought it for a mere $34.99. Little did she know that it might have been looted in Germany during the 2nd World War. And less did she suspect that her purchase probably depicts a famous Roman military leader.
Historians ‘Bust Up’ Over The Man’s Identity
Many historians insist the bust depicts Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (39-9 BC), also known as Drusus the Elder, a celebrated Roman politician and commander. However, Lynley McAlpine, a postdoctoral curatorial fellow and Roman art specialist at the San Antonio museum, told Express-News ‘it might be a representation of Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius (c. 67 – 35 BC).’. Furthermore, Jessica Powers, interim chief curator of the art of the ancient Mediterranean world at the museum in Germany told Express-News agreed that it ‘might have been a son of Pompey. We don’t know who it is of.”
