Canova's 'Maddalena giacente' bought for £5,000 as garden statue, now estimated at £5-8m

A long-lost marble sculpture by Antonio Canova, the 'Maddalena giacente' (Reclining Magdalene), will be auctioned by Christie's in London during its Classic Week in July 2022. The work was created between 1819 and 1822 for British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool. After passing through several owners—including Charles Jenkinson, Lord Ward, Sir Herbert Smith, and eccentric activist Violet van der Elst—it was sold in 2002 at a garden statue auction for about £5,000 to a couple who placed it in their garden, unaware of its origin. Now reattributed to Canova, it carries a pre-sale estimate of £5-8 million (€6-9.5 million). Mario Guderzo, former director of the Museo Gypsotheca Antonio Canova, called the rediscovery 'a miracle' and noted its importance for the history of collecting and for understanding Canova's late career. A plaster model is held at the Museo Gypsotheca in Possagno.