The marble sculpture by Italian sculptor Antonio Tantardini stood for years in the entrance hall of Augusta Löw-Beer’s villa on Hlinky Street in Brno, Czech Republic.. It survived both the Nazi occupation and the communist regime. It disappeared after 2012, when the villa ceased to serve as a nursery. Since then, it was considered lost.
Thanks to a public appeal, the sculpture was identified the very next day after it was made public. The sculpture is in good condition and safely stored in the depository of the Brno City Museum.
This is a deeply emotional moment for the family: some of them last saw the statue and villa in 1992 during their first visit to Brno. After that, they considered it irretrievably lost. The statue is currently being prepared for a public presentation, which will take place when August Löw-Beer’s grandchildren arrive in the Czech Republic.
The villa is currently owned by a private individual, is abandoned, and is falling into disrepair.
Author: Jaroslav Holáň, file originates from MIS NPÚ iispp.npu.cz .; CC 4.0, Národní památkový ústav