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Garden Ornament Revealed as Rare £18,000 Marble Sculpture
15 Sep
Summary
- A 1854 marble bust, mistaken for a garden ornament, is expected to sell for £18,000.
- The sculpture is a rare work by pioneering 19th-century American artist Harriet Goodhue Hosmer.
- Only three verified marble versions of this debut sculpture are known to exist.
A marble bust, unrecognized for more than seven decades as anything more than a garden ornament, is poised to achieve an estimated £18,000 at auction. This significant discovery was made by Thomas Jenner-Fust of Chorley's Auctioneers during a routine valuation in the Cotswolds.
The artwork, dating from 1854, is now identified as the work of Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, an acclaimed American neoclassical sculptor and a notable feminist figure of the 19th century. Hosmer, the first professional female sculptor in the United States, spent much of her career in Rome, establishing an international reputation.
This particular bust depicts Daphne from Greek mythology and is inscribed with "me fecit Roma." It represents Hosmer's debut sculpture, with only a handful ever produced. Historians confirm the existence of just three verified marble versions, all of which are housed in museums across the United States.
The homeowners, who had grown accustomed to the statue's presence, were unaware of its artistic and monetary value. Jenner-Fust highlighted this find as a potent reminder that valuable artifacts can be overlooked, emphasizing the importance of careful clearing of older properties.
