A block of marble valued at $6 was actually a valuable bust statue worth up to $3.2 million.
The bust statue with this intriguing fate is named “Bouchardon Bust”, created by the royal French sculptor Edmé Bouchardon in 1728, depicting the Scottish politician John Gordon. At that time, Mr. Gordon was visiting Rome, Italy.
For many centuries, the statue was housed at the family’s castle in Invergordon, a small town in the Scottish Highlands.
18th-century statue “Bouchardon Bust”. (Photo: Sotheby’s).
However, the castle was sold in the 1920s. The Invergordon Town Council won the auction and acquired the bust statue in 1930 for just $6. Since politician Gordon was believed to be the founder of Invergordon, the town council decided to place it in the town hall.
Yet, this piece of art went missing for many decades until an observant individual discovered it in 1998. At that time, the statue was being used as a doorstop in a warehouse in the nearby village of Balintore.
The Louvre Museum in Paris briefly borrowed the statue in 2016. A year later, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles borrowed this artwork as well. However, officials from the Highland Council decided to keep it, as displaying it publicly would incur high insurance costs.
On November 12, the Tain Sheriff Court in the Scottish Highlands approved the plan to sell this work, which could fetch an astounding amount of over $3.2 million. An anonymous buyer contacted Sotheby’s last year and offered over $3 million. However, it remains unclear whether this private buyer would receive the piece if they live abroad. The statue will likely undergo a legal process to determine if it should be considered a national treasure. If confirmed as a national treasure, it would not be allowed to be exported abroad.
The proceeds from the auction of the statue will be sent to the Invergordon Community Welfare Fund, which provides grants for local projects.
In 2018, a rock used as a doorstop at Central Michigan University for three decades turned out to be a meteorite and was later sold for $75,000.
