A medieval script that could be worth as much as $10,000 was purchased by a bargain hunter.
The Maine Monitor reported last week that Will Sideri picked up a 700-year-old document at an estate sale in Maine after he noticed a leaf adorned in Latin writing.
According to the Associated Press, Sideri was initially in the market for a "KitchenAid mixer, a bookshelf or vintage clothing" at the estate sale, but ended up spending $75 on a manuscript. The manuscript is on a piece of paper.
Sideri sent a message to Megan Cook, an English professor at Colby College, asking if it was real. Cook got in touch with Lisa Fagin Davis, who was able to determine that the photo was real.
It could be worth up to $10,000. The expert confirmed the value to the AP.
The leaves of the Beauvais Missal have 15 or 21 lines of text, or ten staves of music, in two columns.
The most unexpected place where a Beauvais Missal leaf has turned up is an estate sale. Will's leaf is the cheapest one sold recently. She said that the most expensive was sold a few years back.
The Beauvais Missal, used in the Beauvais Cathedral in France, is said to have been written in the late 13th century. In Roman Catholic worship, it was used.
The academic told the Monitor that the inspiration for the film Citizen Kane was once owned by William Randolph Hearst.
The Beauvais Missal may have been torn out of a larger book by art dealers according to Davis.
Sideri told the Monitor he doesn't intend to sell the script, and has given it to his parents for safe keeping.
He told the AP that he knew it was cool. I did not expect to sell it.
It's not uncommon for a piece of art to go awry over time. Laura Young purchased a Roman Bust at a Goodwill store. The relic was to be returned to its rightful owners in Germany.
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