Builder who bought junkyard statue for £300 set to sell hidden masterpiece for £10,000 after discovering true origin

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Builder who bought junkyard statue for £300 set to sell hidden masterpiece for £10,000 after discovering true origin.

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A builder who bought a junkyard statue for £300 is set to scoop a five figure payout after it emerged the antique was a hidden masterpiece.The anonymous buyer picked up a battered statue that the Wiltshire yard's owners had dismissed as a worthless lump of concrete, having sourced it from a country house near Andover in Hampshire.After purchasing the piece, the builder realised it was actually carved from marble, and far older than anyone had suspected.

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Experts have since confirmed the 26-inch figure to be a 290-year-old Italian Baroque maquette depicting Pope Clement XII Corsini, dating from around 1736.

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TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The sculpture has been consigned to Salisbury auctioneers Woolley & Wallis, who have placed a pre-sale estimate of £10,000 on the lot.

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However, significant interest from international buyers means the piece could fetch as much as £100,000 when it goes under the hammer next week.Its creator, Pietro Bracci, was among the most celebrated sculptors...

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