The statue of Roman emperor Hadrian, which might appraise for more than $300,000, came to the Teche Area when the banking business was different.

The IberiaBank building, which houses the classical figure, is for sale. Beth Ardoin, executive vice president and director of communications for IberiaBank, said the bank is “at a point of discussion with a national firm” as a result of “an interest in the statue on the international scene.”

Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce board chairman Gerald Faulk said there is reason to believe the statue could be appraised for more then $300,000 and might fetch more than $1 million at auction.

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Henry Dauterive was directly involved with the acquisition of the Hadrian statue in 1961 as a member of the board of directors for what was then called Iberia Savings and Loan.

Dauterive said Hayes Towne, the architect who designed the St. Peter Street bank location, recommended the purchase of the antiquity.

“I went with him (Towne) to New Orleans to look at it. It was not something that would necessarily fit in a town like New Iberia,” Dauterive said. “This particular emperor had a history of building and that was the business of Iberia Savings and Loan at the time, so it conveyed a message that was identifiable with out business.”

Dauterive said, to his knowledge, the statue came from Rome and then to London before finding its way to New Orleans.

Cornelius C. Vermuele, a professor and curator of Museum of Fine Arts in Boston who died in 1996, wrote a book called Greek and Roman Sculptures in America which included IberiaBank’s Hadrian statue. According to Vermuele, the statue was in the collections of the Villa Montalto-Negroni-Massimi in Rome until acquired by Cobham Hall, a noble estate in Kent, England.

Dauterive said the bank first had the statue in a garden on the property when it became the object of attack and vandalism.

“We had it appraised and found to our horror that it was worth much more then we paid for it,” Dauterive said. “We looked into the idea of insuring it and that necessitated protecting it.”

It was then that Hadrian was placed inside the glass showroom where it remains.

Dauterive believes that times change and the banking world is much different these days.

“The statue at this point is a little too valuable to just hang up there,” he said. “After a while it reaches a point where it exceeds our basic purpose. We (IberiaBank) always contribute to the town but there are limits. I think it is appropriate at this point to consider its sale.”

At the Iberia Industrial Development meeting Thursday, Mayor Hilda Curry mentioned that the city has sent a message to IberiaBank that in the event they decide to donate the antiquity to the city, the city is dedicated to finding an appropriate place for it.