Sculpture mistaken for ornament may fetch £18,000 at auction
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Thomas Jenner-Fust, director of Chorley's Auctioneers, discovered a rare marble bust while evaluating a home in the Cotswolds, England.
The family who owned the sculpture had believed it was a garden ornament made of reconstituted stone for over seventy years. Jenner-Fust identified the work as a sculpture of Daphne created in 1854 by Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, an American neoclassical sculptor and pioneering feminist.
Hosmer, born in Massachusetts in 1830, gained international recognition in Rome as one of the first professional female sculptors in the United States. She openly lived as a gay woman at a time when such relationships faced widespread condemnation. Only a few versions of her debut sculpture, Daphne, were ever made, with three confirmed marble copies currently held in museums in the United States.
The family believes an ancestor purchased the sculpture at auction in the mid-1900s, and they were surprised to learn of its true identity and value. Chorley's Auctioneers will offer the bust for sale in Gloucester, estimating it could fetch up to £18,000. Jenner-Fust encourages people clearing out older homes to be cautious, as valuable objects may be hidden in plain sight.
