A portrait bust of Drusus Germanicus, missing since WWII, was found in a Texas thrift store by an art collector and is now at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
A 2,000-year-old Roman bust was found at a thrift store in Texas after being missing since WWII.
The relic, now safe at the San Antonio Museum of Art, was thrifted by art collector Laura Young in 2018, according to the outlet My San Antonio.
The woman paid $34.99 for the 50-pound marble bust, not realizing how much it was actually worth.
Young consulted with an auction house in London, who confirmed the sculpture was probably a portrait bust of Roman general Drusus Germanicus.
The last place the bust was recorded being seen was the Pompejanum, a German museum built by the German King Ludwig I in the 1840s.
According to a description on the SAMA website, during WWII, Aschaffenburg — the city where the Pompejanum is located — was targeted, resulting in both the damage of the museum and the disappearance of the bust.
Because the U.S. Army established military installations throughout the city of Aschaffenburg that stayed until the Cold War, experts think a returning soldier may have brought the bust home to Texas, according to the outlet.
San Antonio Museum of Art now has the sculpture on loan from the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes.
"Portrait of a Man," will be displayed until May 21, 2023, when it will be shipped back to Germany, according to a post by the local art museum.
