Roman bust looted in WWII sold at Texas Goodwill store for $35

AUSTIN, Texas - An ancient Roman portrait dating from the first century BC or first century AD was discovered in a Goodwill Store in Austin in 2018, according to the San Antonio Museum of Art. 

The bust depicts famed Roman commander Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, also known as Drusus Germanicus or Drusus the Elder. Laura Young reportedly purchased the 2,000-year-old Roman bust at a Goodwill store for $35 in 2018. 

After bringing it home, she began researching its provenance and discovered that it had once stood in the Pompejanum museum. The Pompejanum museum was a full-scale model of a house from Pompeii that was located in the town of Aschaffenburg, Germany.

During World War II, Allied bombers targeted Aschaffenburg and seriously damaged the Pompejanum, and the 52-pound marble bust, standing at 19 inches tall, disappeared. After the war, the United States Army established various military installations in Aschaffenburg, many of which remained until the end of the Cold War. 

Most likely a returning soldier brought the sculpture to Texas, where it remained unknown until 2018, according to the San Antonio Museum of Art. The Roman bust will remain on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art in San Antonio until its return to Germany in 2023.

Storyful contributed to this article