1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. New York's Metropolitan Museum 5 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: of Art paid a handsome sum for the statue. In 6 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: The forty dollar price tag was the equivalent of nearly 7 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: six hundred thousand dollars today, but to the Met it 8 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: was worth the price. The statue, known as the Big Warrior, 9 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: stood nearly seven feet tall and showed the likeness of 10 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: a soldier from the Etruscan civilization. They were a people 11 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: group that lived in central Italy, but were absorbed into 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: the Roman Empire as it grew and took over the region. 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: It's an older and less own culture, and relics from 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: that period are incredibly difficult to find, So yeah, the 15 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: Met knew a good deal when it saw one. The 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: statue was part of a collection that the met purchased 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: over the span of six years from a team of 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: restoration experts in Italy. The Big Warrior had been pieced 19 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: back together by this team. Two brothers and their sons, 20 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,759 Speaker 1: all with the last name Ricardi, but other items were 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: in a less complete state. One example was the four 22 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: foot tall sculpture of a warrior's head, the body lost 23 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: to time. Experts of the met concluded that when it 24 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: was new, the head sat atop a statue nearly twenty 25 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: five ft tall. The last item purchased was another warrior 26 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: of similar height to the big warrior. This one was 27 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: put on display as the old warrior, but it was 28 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: in much worse shape. The entire right arm had been lost, 29 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: as had the thumb from the left hand, but it 30 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: was still beautiful and made for a great addition to 31 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: their growing Etruscan collection. The exhibit featuring them opened in 32 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three, but right from the start there were 33 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: scholars who had doubts. There were debates and papers published 34 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: from both sides of the argument, but by the nineteen 35 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: sixties most archaeologists were in agreement the Etruscan statues were fakes. 36 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: There were a number of pieces of evidence that helped 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: seal the case. Part of it came down to the 38 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,079 Speaker 1: chemical analysis of the glaze used on the terra cotta, 39 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: but there were also some discrepancies regarding the way these 40 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,519 Speaker 1: statues were crafted and fired. Etrushcans made everything in one piece, 41 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: while these were clearly built in segments and later assembled. Finally, 42 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty one, an elderly man named Alfredo Fioravanti 43 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: slowly walked into the American Consul in Rome, where he 44 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: sat down and wrote out a formal confession. He had 45 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: been a sculptor employed by the Riccardi's back in the 46 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds, helping them craft allow forgeries that were 47 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: later sold to museums like the met in New York. 48 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: Even had photographs of the statues to show them. Furavanti 49 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: told them how they did it too. They would work 50 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: for months to craft a statue and get it just right, 51 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: and then when it was finished, they would push it 52 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: over and watch it shatter into hundreds of pieces. Then 53 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: painstakingly they would reassemble it, as any restoration expert might 54 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: do with a broken archaeological find. If parts were ever missing, 55 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: that was entirely by design, as in the case of 56 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: the Old Warrior. The authorities were skeptical, though one man 57 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: decades later claiming to have answers to a long forgotten mystery. Well, 58 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: that's the stuff of movie plots and paperback thrillers. Not 59 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: real life, but the old man insisted he was telling 60 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: the truth. To prove it, he pulled a small object 61 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: out of his pocket and placed it on the table. 62 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: The authorities there gave him a puzzled look before picking 63 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: the item up and turning it over in their hands. 64 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: When they realized what it was, they knew the mystery 65 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: had been solved. It was a piece of the old 66 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: Warrior that no one had ever seen before, but everyone 67 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: had assume existed once the missing left thumb. It's one 68 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: of the many tales of the founding of America. Settlers 69 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: from England were exploring more and more of the New World, 70 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: and as they did, they set up new communities far 71 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: from the comfort of home. We know these stories as 72 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: well as the backs of our hands, if not in detail, 73 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: then at least in theme. Most of the original states 74 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: have a story that echoes these themes. But there's one 75 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: tale in particular that I want to tell you. Some 76 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: think it begins as far back as the late sixteen seventies, 77 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: when English settlers began to cross over the Appalachian Mountains. 78 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: First there were dozens, then hundreds, and then thousands. They 79 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: made their homes in an area that was part of 80 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: the far western edge of the colonies of North Carolina 81 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: and Virginia, Settling along the Wattuauga River Valley, they farmed 82 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 1: and hunted for years, making a new life for themselves. 83 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: But in seventeen sixty three, England declared it to be 84 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: illegal to cross the mountains into the west, so they 85 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: had a choice returned to North Carolina's legal territory or 86 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: become united and support themselves. They had fought to be there, 87 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: after all, defending themselves against the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans. 88 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: They didn't want to give up on all of that. 89 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy two, they drafted a document that foreshadowed 90 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: the coming declaration of independence. With it, they formed the 91 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: Wattuauga Association, set up courts and a militia, and continued 92 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: to defend their territory. A few years later, the British 93 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: sent troops over the mountains to attack them, but these 94 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: frontiersmen were stronger than they seemed. They met the British 95 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: at the foot of King's Mountain and sent them retreating 96 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: back into the eastern colonies. After the war was over, 97 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: they tried their hand at being a satellite colony of 98 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: North Carolina, But after being taxed almost as severely as 99 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: they had under the Crown, they succeeded to go it alone. 100 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: In seventeen eighty four, they set up their own state, 101 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: America's fourteenth in fact, and elected a governor named John Seviere. 102 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson even backed their move and helped them make 103 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: a formal request to the government to be recognized as 104 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: a new American state. Sadly, they failed to get the 105 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: votes necessary, and their entire enterprise fell apart about four 106 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: years after becoming an independent state. Their lands were repossessed 107 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: by North Carolina, and Sevier was a reested as a trader, 108 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: which is why you've never heard of the first fourteenth 109 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: state in American history, a state named after one of 110 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:13,119 Speaker 1: the heroes of the Revolution, Benjamin Franklin. Yes, the State 111 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: of Franklin was shut down before it could even begin 112 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: its new official life, but the spirit that gave birth 113 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: to it, the strength of the frontier settlers and their 114 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: fierce independence, helped keep the dream alive. In seventeen nineties, 115 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: six twelve years after their first failure, the people of 116 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: the territory were successfully admitted to the Union as a state. 117 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: They changed the name from Franklin to Tennessee, and it's 118 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: stuck ever since. Oh and their first governor none other 119 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: than John Seviere. Naturally, It's a powerful lesson wrapped up 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: in a bit of lost bizarre history. Our failures often hurt, 121 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: but over time most people will forget about them. What's 122 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: truly important, it seems, is to ever give up. You 123 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: never know how things will turn out in the end. 124 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 125 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 126 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 127 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership 128 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 129 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 130 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: and you can learn all about it over at the 131 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.