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£5,000 garden ornament turned out to be a missing £8million masterpiece
Jesus's disciples - lying down and in grief.The artefact was created and designed by one of the greatest Neoclassical artists and Italian master, Antonio Canova, in the 1800s.The couple bought the sculpture for £5,170 over two decades ago and had no idea of the statue's monetary worth and its historical links.Despite the artefact sitting in their garden for decades, it wasn't until recently the pair speculated it could be a masterpiece.They had the sculpture's origins checked by a specialist, and it was confirmed to be a piece by Antonio and had a whopping value between £5 million and £8 million.The million-pound sculpture known as Maddalena Giacente or Recumbent Magdalene was initially commissioned by the former British prime minister Lord Liverpool in 1819.The 6ft-long marble sculpture was sold by Lord Liverpool's family during the mid-1800s and then kept at a stately home until a disastrous fire.The statue was eventually rediscovered and identified in 2002 after it was sold at a garden statue auction for just £5,200.The piece is also known as "sleeping beauty" and was one of the Italian master's last works.Antonio Canova expert, Dr Mario Guderzo, said it was a "miracle" that the sculpture had been found.He said: "[It] brings to a conclusion a very particular story worthy of a novel, of a marble of significant historical value and great aesthetic beauty produced by Canova in the final years of his artistic activity."According to the four canonical gospels, Mary Magdalene travelled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection.Recumbent Magdalene will be sold at Christie's in London on July 7.It will be on view there tomorrow and Sunday before going on tour to New York and Hong
