A 13th-century painting that hung in an elderly woman’s kitchen several years ago was acquired by the Louvre after four years of trying to keep the rare work of art in France.

The paintings, Christ mocksalso known as The mockery of Christwas painted around 1280 by the Florentine painter Cimabue, according to The Guardian. It shows Jesus being tormented by the crowd before his crucifixion. Art historians believe it is part of a diptych, one of eight panels illustrating the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, once hung together for display.

It is a rare work of art and only two other examples are known worldwide, said the Louvre.

The pre-Renaissance painting is one of the oldest works in the collection of the world-famous museum. It will be highlighted in a planned exhibition alongside another of Cimabue’s works, Maestà, scheduled for 2025.

According to The Guardian, only about a dozen works by Cimabuem, who did not sign his paintings, survive to this day.

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The painting was found just a few years ago when an elderly woman threw away some of the things she had collected over the years in preparation for moving to a new house. One of the items she planned to throw away was an old 10-by-8-inch painting hanging above the kitchen stove that she thought was a Greek religious icon, CNN reported.

Her family decided to bring in an appraiser to see if the items were worth anything before they were thrown into the trash heap. The small wood panel painting caught the attention of the appraiser because of its depiction of Christ, who sent it to a Paris art specialist to confirm its value, according to The Guardian.

Initially, the Louvre wanted to acquire the painting. But when the auction gavel sounded in 2019, it sold to an art dealer in London for 24.2 million euros ($26.8 million), more than four times its original estimate, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

But shortly after the auction, the French government stepped in and mockingly declared Christ a “national treasure” and gave the Louvre 30 months to raise the money to purchase the painting.

Earlier this month, France’s Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak and Louvre President and Director Laurence des Car announced that they had managed to raise funds to purchase the painting.

“The mockery of Christ by Cimabue is a crucial milestone in art history and marks the fascinating transition from icon to painting,” the French Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

Unfortunately, the elderly woman who owned the painting died just two days after the auction, but her three heirs will inherit her estate, according to Smithsonian Magazine.