I love Art.

I’m an Art Collector.

I have original paintings of the Dutch Duo Masters, Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt in my Art Collection, original paintings and sculptors of The Italian Masters Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, bronze and marble works of the French genius Auguste Rodin.

I also have some African works in my collection from the Nok Culture and Benin Kingdom in Nigeria.

I also have a collection of Hieroglyphics Works from ancient Egypt.

It is interesting to me to see these things and let them speak to you about how life was thousands of years ago…

 

I have Art Works from Europe, Africa, Asia, America, Oceania in my Museum.

 

I absolutely LOVE Art!

 

I keep all these Art Works in my Private Museum and hold Public Exhibitions once in a while.

I am always on the lookout for new Art Works from any part of the planet to add to my collection.

So, I get a lot of calls from prospective agents who deal in Art about new Works in the Art Market I may be interested in.

 

Last month, I got a call about a Granite Statue from the Middle East.

My interest was aroused- I don’t have any Art Work from that part of the world!

Adding a Middle Eastern Art Work to my collection would be the icing on the cake for me, I thought.

I wanted to know all about it: what is the size? What kind of Granite is it made from? Who is the Sculptor? What is his pedigree? How much is it?

I needed answers to these questions!

 

Unfortunately, nobody seemed to have clear cut answers to them- this Statue seems to be a mysterious one! That increased my interest in it. I arranged to fl over to see it myself so I could take an informed decision if I should buy it and add it to my collection.

It was a smooth flight to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.

We landed around 10am. I had arranged to see this mysterious Statue that day and hopefully conclude on it same day and fly back the next day.

I was picked up from the airport by my link in Jerusalem and we drove over to the warehouse where the Statue was kept in Jerusalem, a journey of about 95 minutes.

We were ushered into the large hall with the Statue in the middle, covered in canvas.

I walked over and took off the canvas with trembling hands…

 

There before me was the most amazing Sculpture I had ever laid my eyes on! It was a beauty to behold: the Statue of a Woman. I stood there, staring at the Statue and taking it all in for a few minutes. Then I looked closely, trying to decipher what type of Granite it was made from.

I had no idea!

I asked those who want to sell it, they also had no idea!

 

Woah! The mystery thickens…

At that point, I couldn’t be bothered about the type of Granite. I made up my mind- I would buy it!

I LOVED it!

I was already imagining it in my Museum and the President (who is also an Art Lover) coming over for an exclusive visit to see it…

 

We discussed the cost, bargained for a few minutes and agreed on a figure.

I transferred 50% of the figure to them immediately as agreed: balance to be paid on delivery.

We were done under 2 hours.

I could fly back same day, but I decided to spend some time in Jerusalem sight seeing. It had been a while I was in Israel.

 

I was invited to a Party that evening by one of my Business Partners at the Safra Square, just outside the Jerusalem City Hall for 7pm. It was an outdoor event and the best of Israeli Culture and Food was on display.

I really enjoyed it.

 

By 10pm, I was back in my hotel room, hoping to rest well before flying back home the next morning.

The Statue I just bought would be freighted over to me in a week.

I was very excited, like a kid who just got a new toy…

 

The following week, I got a call: the Statue had arrived at the airport!

I sent a truck over to pick it up and take to my Museum. I drove over to the Museum to receive it personally.

As I drove to the Museum, the weather changed. The weather guys had forecast it would be a rainy day, so I was not surprised at the change in weather. By the time I got to the Museum, it was already raining cats and dogs.

 

The truck drove in the rain with the Statue from the airport to the Museum.

We had to wait for over an hour for the rain to subside before we could go out to see the Statue.

When we got to the truck, THE STATUE HAD VANISHED!

It was just NOT there!

I was shocked!

Everybody was shocked too.

 

The mysterious Statue that was made from an unidentifiable material by an unknown sculptor that was flown from Israel to my Country and was loaded unto my truck at the airport has vanished into thin air without any clue!

Should I call the police, I wondered.

Is my truck driver trying to pull wool over my eyes, I wondered.

What is really going on here?

A Statue can’t just disappear into thin air just like that!

 

But in that moment it dawned on me what just happened.

And I broke out in laughter!

I laughed until tears were streaming down my face.

Everybody around was worried- what was funny?

They thought I was losing my mind over it…

 

After a while, I composed myself.

“Gentlemen”, I said; “I have just been duped: I bought Lot’s Wife turned into a Pillar of Salt!”

 

 

Shalom,

Haruna Daniels