A bargain hunter who went to an estate sale in Maine to find a KitchenAid mixer, a bookshelf or vintage clothing walked away with a 700-year-old treasure.
Instead of a kitchen appliance, Will Sideri stumbled upon a framed document hanging on a wall. It had elaborate script in Latin, along with musical notes and gold flourishes. A sticker said 1285 AD. Based on what he’d seen in a manuscripts class at Colby College, the document looked medieval.
And it was a bargain at $75.
Academics confirmed the parchment was from The Beauvais Missal, used in the Beauvais Cathedral in France, and dated to the late 13th century. It was used about 700 years ago in Roman Catholic worship, they said.
An expert on manuscripts said the document, first reported by the Maine Monitor, could be worth as much as $10,000.
After spying the unusual manuscript, Mr Sideri contacted his former Colby College professor, who was familiar with it because there’s another page in the college collection. The professor reached out to another academic who’d researched the document. They quickly confirmed the authenticity.
The parchment was part of a prayer book and priests’ liturgy, said Lisa Fagin Davis, executive director of the Medieval Academy of America and a professor of manuscript studies at Simmons University in Boston.
The full missal was once owned by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper publisher, before being sold in the 1940s and, much to the consternation of today’s academics, was divvied up into individual pages, she said.
The practice was common in the early 20th century. “Thousands of unique manuscripts were destroyed and scattered this way,” Ms Davis said.
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Officials announced the repatriation of 30 looted antiquities to Cambodia. AP -
One of the Cambodian antiquities recovered by the US Attorney's Office, in New York. AP -
Some of the Cambodian antiquities recovered by the US Attorney's Office on display. AP -
The South-East Asian country's archaeological sites, including Koh Ker, a capital of the ancient Khmer empire, suffered widespread looting in civil conflicts between the 1960s and 1990s. AP -
Looted artefacts on display. AP -
This 10th century sandstone statue depicting the Hindu god of war, Skanda, riding on a peacock will be returned to Cambodia. AP -
The works were voluntarily relinquished by US museums and private collectors after civil forfeiture claims were filed. AP -
Some of the artefacts are made from gold and bronze. AP
Ms Davis has painstakingly researched The Beauvais Missal, and has tracked down more than 100 individual pages across the country. All told, the missal numbered 309 pages in its original form.
The page purchased by Mr Sideri is of particular interest to scholars.
It’s a treasure, both because of its age and condition, which is far better than the other page in the Colby collection, said Megan Cook, Mr Sideri’s former professor, who teaches medieval literature at Colby.
The parchment is worth upwards of $10,000, according to Ms Davis. But Mr Sideri said he has no intention of selling it.
He said he likes the history and beauty of the parchment — and the story of how he stumbled upon it.
“This is something at the end of the day that I know is cool,” he said. “I didn’t buy this expecting to sell it.”
Texas charity shop treasure - in pictures
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The San Antonio Museum of Art is temporarily displaying the piece until it is returned to Germany next year. San Antonio Museum of Art / AP -
Laura Young, who found the piece, said that she enjoyed having 'him' around the house. Photo: Laura Young -
The bust in its temporary home. Photo: Laura Young -
The bust is thought to have been brought back from Europe during the Second World War. San Antonio Museum of Art / AP -
Safety first when carrying priceless artefacts. Photo: Laura Young -
Laura Young said that she knew the bust was special when she found it. Photo: Laura Young -
Ms Young said that she was browsing through a charity shop when she noticed the bust on the floor, under a table. Photo: Laura Young
