The Best Thing I Ever Thrifted With Laura Young
The longtime antiques dealer on her ancient Roman bust - a find that made headlines, and history
I’ve been thinking a lot about why we thrift. Sure, there’s the pull of the “deal,” the draw of the I-got-something-no-one-else-has moment. But there’s also this: that thrifting allows us to give something new life. Sometimes, it allows us to return something to its old life.
Laura Young’s history-making find proves that hunting for treasure isn’t always about claiming the treasure for yourself, but about allowing it to live the life it was meant to all along.
Laura is a longtime thrift shopper and antiques dealer (she has an incredible eye, and you should bookmark her eBay shop and follow her on Instagram). I am so thrilled that she agreed to tell the story of her best thrift find ever: a first century AD, life-sized Roman marble portrait bust that found its way to a Texas Goodwill before finding its way back home.
“I grew up with elderly family members who collected antiques so I developed an appreciation for old and interesting things at an early age. By 13, I was having my mom take me to antique stores, estate sales, and garage sales regularly. My childhood interest became a serious collecting hobby by my 20s and I started selling antiques and vintage online in 2011.
On August 13, 2018, I was shopping at a Goodwill in Austin, TX. The bust was on the floor under a display table and it immediately stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. I tried to pick it up, thought better of it since it weighed 50 pounds, and promptly found a strong-looking employee to carry it to the register for me. It cost $34.99.
Initially, I knew it was old — at least a convincing antique reproduction since it had very old-looking professional plaster repairs and Greco-Roman art reproductions were common in the 18th-19th century — but once I got it to the car, I was fairly confident it was Roman. It looked like busts I’ve seen in museums before (his twin is in The Louvre). To say I was excited was an understatement.
In the process of trying to sell the bust with Sotheby’s in 2018, they found old photos of it online cataloged in the Bavarian collection in 1933. I contacted museum officials and was told that the bust [Italian in origin, and made in the first century AD] had been purchased by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the 1800s. It had remained in Bavaria’s possession until it went missing sometime shortly after WWII.
The assumption was that an American soldier looted the bust, brought it home as an illegal souvenir, and it was donated to Goodwill 70+ years later after the soldier passed away. Specialists now suspect the bust might actually be a portrait of Sextus Pompey.
I knew I had to return the bust as I couldn’t legally sell it (cultural heritage items looted in conflict are protected by law), but I figured a museum loan in Texas prior to its return in Germany was a great idea given the crazy backstory, so I hired an attorney (Leila Amineddoleh) and she negotiated a restitution agreement that included a year-long loan with the San Antonio Museum of Art. The bust was displayed in our living room until April 2022 (thanks, Covid) when it went to San Antonio, and finally, Germany.
My running joke is that my son (the bust) is currently on an extended study abroad in Europe but he has technically resided at the Pompejanum in Aschaffenburg, Germany as part of the Bavarian state antiquities collection since June 2023.
The bust is a handsome, if serious, fellow, and very lifelike. It’s a beautiful example of ancient Roman portraiture.
A bucket list item for me as a Texas dealer would be a Porfirio Salinas Texas landscape painting. Regarding missed picks, as a dealer and collector they happen every second of the day since I can’t be everywhere at once, but that’s the nature of this hobby / business. I try not to think about what I’ve missed out on and focus instead on the treasures that I do find.”
What a wonderful outlook! As Laura’s find proves, treasures abound — and sometimes, they change the course of history. I also created this little graphic, to illustrate the journey the bust took before (and after) Laura happened upon it:
Odds & Ends
I have plans to publish a gift guide next week, organized by category (food, beauty, etc.) I don’t want to inundate anyone, and I know we are all getting overwhelmed by guides at this point. But I figured I’d share a handful of my favorite items that I would personally love to receive as a gift, if I didn’t already have them! Is there any specific category you’d like me to include? Any type of person you find impossible to buy for? Let me know in the comments!
This very chic lip balm trio will likely be included in the guide. I love the packaging, the price point, and that it’s a practical item (who doesn’t have at least one tube of lip balm on their person at all times?) done in an elevated way. This would be such a great gift for a co-worker or teacher — someone you aren’t super close with but still want to spoil. I also think a teen or tween who doesn’t wear makeup but wants to experiment would love these (even the tinted shades are very subtle).
One thing I’d like to see under the tree? These New Balance sneakers! I noticed that all the chic Vancouver girls were wearing New Balance on my recent trip, and it got me thinking that I need a pair, too!
And I’ll leave you with this…
This is amazing!
What a fantastic story! Thank you!💕