Art: BROWSER'S PRIZE

BROWSING through an antique shop off London's Bond Street a few years ago, Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum Director James J. Rorimer came across a metal bust that caught his expert eye. Recalls Rorimer: "It was filthy with grime, tarnished, painted with a darkened varnish, and the face was covered with several layers of flaking paint." When he opened the bust's hinged miter. he saw that the inside was of carefully hammered silver. Concluded Rorimer: "There could be no doubt that here was an Italian 15th century reliquary bust."

For less than $1,000, Rorimer carted the bust off to the U.S. In the Met's...

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