Nowadays, more and more people like to put some chic items in their homes to decorate the façade. Some people like to hang creative photos on the wall, some people like to put some colorful and fragrant flowers on the table, some people like to put some ingenious handicrafts...
With them, the whole space becomes either warm and cozy, or stylish and generous.
In the UK, there is a couple who also have this preference. To that end, the two once attended an auction. At that time, they were attracted by a statue. The couple then bought it and placed it in their garden.
Time flies, and the stone statue has been in their garden for 20 years. One day, they contacted a professional. After careful study, it turned out that this stone statue, which had been placed in their garden for a long time, was extremely valuable.
It has always felt different
The couple declined to reveal their identities.
It is reported that as early as 2002, the two of them participated in a statue auction together, a huge white stone statue, which deeply attracted their attention. This stone statue depicts a sad, leaning woman on the ground, which looks very special and ingenious.
In the end, they spent £5,170 (about $43,000) to take it down. Then they brought the beautiful stone statue home and "placed" it in the garden. With this stone statue, for a time their garden added a lot of artistic atmosphere.
Time is like an arrow, and before you know it, it has been placed in the couple's garden for 20 years.
In fact, whenever they look at this stone statue, they feel that it is different. One day, they couldn't help it and invited a professional to come and check it out.
After careful study, the staff found that the stone statue, which had long been used as a garden ornament, was not as simple as the ordinary stone statue, but was written by the famous Italian artist Antonio Canova, and it was his last work.
Today it is worth between $42 million and $67 million
It is reported that Antonio received a request from a celebrity to carve the stone statue for him. The stone statue was then passed on to the famous man's brother. Later, he was bought by a wealthy businessman.
However, around the 1920s, for some reason, the statue was gone. Over the years, many professionals have been looking for traces of it. However, there were no results.
It wasn't until 20 years ago, in 2002, that the stone statue reappeared, just in time for the British couple to take home and place it in the garden.
(This old photo shows how many years the statue is.
"It's incredible that this long-lost work by Antonio Canova could be discovered... This discovery is of great significance for collecting and art," says Mario Goodzo, a professional who has studied Antonio in depth.
It is reported that after assessment, the value of the statue is between 5 million and 8 million pounds (about 42 million yuan to 67 million yuan).
Although for a long time, the couple found this stone statue unique. However, they never imagined that it was so precious; nor did they think that the two would be so lucky to encounter such a thing.
And for their luck, we only have envy.
Reference material: Guardian, Evening Standard, Christie's
(Floret)