Featured Someone found at a Goodwill

Just saw this and wanted to share.

If you have a FB, https://m.facebook.com/groups/archeologyandcivilizations/permalink/9029127737180670/?

else here’s a screen shot….

 

Love the Goodwill sticker on his face. I wonder why the museum in Germany didn't want it back.

 

folks, in general , have no idea what 2000 year old stuff is.....

 

how many decades ago....... maybe they stole it from a Jewish collector..

 

Though Im loathe to part with anything more than $5 I would have splashed out for that. Its beautiful .

 

'A 2,000 year old Roman bust that was found at a Goodwill store in Texas is currently owned by the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes in Germany, as it was discovered to be part of the art collection of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and was likely looted during World War II'.
We owe a huge debt to the 'Greatest Generation' for helping save the world in WWII,but them fine boys definitely liberated more than just their fellow humans !

 

Monuments Men....... nuff said .....

 

Roman dude probably went back to Bavaria; Ludvig I predated the Nazi scum predators by a century or so.

 

This story is definitely good fun—and the bust has indeed gone back to Germany! The likely circumstances of its removal meant that it had to be returned.

Here are some quotes from another article, with some edits by me for expedience:

“Located in the German city Aschaffenburg, the Pompejanum (a full-scale replica of a Pompeii villa, commissioned in the 1840s by King Ludwig I of Bavaria [ - now a museum]) faced heavy bombing during World War II. The site was restored and reopened in the 1960s, but by that time (or perhaps shortly after) the bust had “disappeared”. Some suspect it may have been taken by a U.S. soldier stationed in the area.”

Interior designer Laura Young, who found the bust at Goodwill in 2019 and subsequently tried to authenticate it in order to sell it, is quoted as saying: “…I got an email from Bonhams confirming the head was indeed ancient Roman, but without provenance they “could be of no further assistance”. Soon after that, Sotheby’s got in touch [to explain that they had identified the bust’s last owner, knew therefore that it was stolen, and wanted to explain to Young what her legal obligations were.] …There were a few months of intense excitement after that, but it was bittersweet since I knew I couldn’t keep or sell the [bust].”

Owing to the sensitive nature of the negotiations, and Covid, Young had to literally hide the bust (even from workmen) in her own home for around three years. To date, the donor who gave it to Goodwill has not come forward. After terms for the de-accession were agreed between Young’s lawyers and German officials, and after the bust was briefly displayed in Texas, it returned to the Pompejanum where it is now on display to the public.



Article I quoted here, no paywall: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a...s-goodwill-repatriation-germany-2287242?amp=1

 

"To date, the donor who gave it to Goodwill has not come forward." Will we ever learn the identity of the 'mystery donor',and if so-will the tale become a tearjerker WWII Hallmark Movie or a nostalgic Rom Com ?
-stay tuned.

 

They could at least had left the Goodwill price sticker on his cheek to accurately document it historic story.

 

I do like the historical accuracy of the sticker-an object's evolution thru the ages.Conservancy-wise though,an archival life size photo w/ GW sticker in place, displayed next to the actual object might be safer.
PS-A shout out to the old GW of my youth,my pre-curated treasure chest ! Found so many great things there in the old days.

 

I hit gold, literally, in mine more than once. Now, even the silverplate is pewter or chromed steel.

 

Yep Ruth-Never passed one up in the old days.The booty from those old stores helped when times were lean & later helped w/ vacation funds.
Right before Covid I had a good score at my local GW,then it closed during the pandemic,and all our surviving stores have been curated ever since.
PS-It's awesome when someone here makes a great find at a GW,like hearing a rare 'Oldie' on the radio.

 

Theres a Goodwill right by my house and Im in that one pretty much every other day. I noticed after Christmas the MOUNTAINS of stuff piled under their donation carport. I asked one of my little friends there what in the world are they going to do about all that donated stuff and he told me they load it (unsorted) into bins and ship it to a central warehouse where its sorted then sent out to various stores. So if an old lady's family donates a silver tea set to the local store it may very well end up in some other state ! My personal theory is that one used to be able to get local items donated by local people but since the pandemic theyve fine tuned their sorting agenda . Thus why real treasures arent slipping thru very much anymore.

 

I've seen things piled in the back room and you darned well know they never were destined for the floor. Anything good goes on line, where the people they allege they're helping can't afford it, and the trash goes into the store. They used to sell a pile of jewelry; now it never shows up in my local store, and the "new " one gets some but it's all things too junky to sell on line.

Meanwhile people blame resellers for jacking prices up. Resellers didn't do that; the greed-heads at Ill Will HQ did. Old school resellers are/were often the very disabled/disadvantaged people the stores said they're helping. GoodWill needs to change their names to something less of a lie.

The exceptions to the Junk rule are things too heavy or fragile to ship easily. Sometimes. Things with damage go to the stores, and things with no resale value. That silver tea service may well end up melted for scrap, and will be before they put it back into a store.

 

I agree that GW changed their strategy big-time post Covid and they closed their smaller neighborhood stores-yep,we had a baby 'mom & pop' GW in my medium size town.
Also closed during the pandemic were our regional Salvation Army shops,a Discovery Shop,a St Vincent DePaul,and a few other.
I've got to ask (politely of course) my local GW manager-who & how do they screen,judge & monetize their donations.
I suspect everything from 2 buck Pez dispensers to 18K gold gets pulled-they over-screen.The stores stock's so mediocre now they make The Dollar Store aisles look almost glamorous !