Ancient Art Found in Kitchen Reno: A National Treasure!

During the renovation of the kitchen, in an English dwelling in York County, a frieze was found with paintings that were created in the 17th century. They depict scenes from a poem written by Francis Quarles.

It was supposed to be a routine renovation of a one-bedroom apartment in a historic building on Micklegate Street in the English city of York. Luke Budworth and his partner Hazel Mooney decided to freshen up the kitchen to settle into the new place for good.

However, they had to leave their premises for the duration of the renovation. A few days later, they received a call from contractors asking: “did you know there was a painting in your apartment?”. They didn’t know. The tenants immediately arrived on the scene to find out what the mysterious find was.

The painting had been hidden under a wooden panel for years

It turned out that the painting was on a covered frieze, or horizontal decorative strip. Such elements often decorated temples and other monumental buildings. Religious, mythological or historical symbols were often painted on them. Luka Budworth claims to have known about the existence of the frieze, but always thought that it only served the function of hiding the pipes on the wall.

Luke and Chloe took out their tools and began forging the inner layer of the frieze. This one was encased in a wooden panel. When they peeled off this fragment, a sizable painting appeared to their eyes, with a style reminiscent of works from the Victorian era.

“This fragment was painted, just like the rest of the wall. I always thought there was nothing there. We were very surprised when we discovered the paintings,” Budworth tells CNN.

The apartment owner decided to find out more about the artwork. At first glance, he judged that it must have been very old. However, he didn’t think it could be even older than the apartment building they lived in.

The artwork refers to a poem by a British writer from the 17th century

The couple contacted local art historians and researchers. It turned out that the painting may have been created around 1660. Walking on it are scenes that allude to Francis Quarles’ book Emblems, which was written in 1635. The tenement in which the artwork was found was built in 1747, which means that another, much older building was previously located here.

“I knew that we live in an old building, on a very old and historic street, whose history dates back to Roman times. Therefore, such a discovery may not be so surprising to archaeologists. For us, however, it is an extraordinary encounter with history in our own apartment,” says Luke Budworth.

The painting has enormous national significance

“It’s really crazy to think that this site still contains structures that predate the Great Fire of London and other subsequent events,” says Luke Budworth.

The Englishman adds, however, that while it’s amazing to have such paintings in his apartment, he’s worried that he won’t be able to afford to preserve them. For now, he has received additional funding from the British Institute of Conservation so that he can secure and re-cover the frieze.

Historic England Foundation took an interest in the case. Researchers conducted an investigation, which revealed that the frieze was first discovered in 1998. The previous owners decided to hide it, and it was later forgotten. — We believe this work of art is of national significance. Wall paintings are extremely rare in York, so the discovery is all the more interesting,” Simon Taylor, an architectural researcher at Historic England, told BBC News.

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