Controversy about the renovation erupted in January 2011, however, when original decorative urns from the 1995–1996 renovation turned up at auction. The two tall urns, sculpted by Ulysses Ricci, formerly stood on either side of the stage in the amphitheater. By 1995, they had significantly weathered and many details had softened so much as to be unrecognizable. Omni Construction, one of Clark Construction's subcontractors, was assigned to dispose of the urns. Omni turned the urns over to Pagliaro Brothers Stone of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Pagliaro Brothers Stone said they did not have records about the urns' ultimate fate, but in 1997 the urns ended up in the hands of an unidentified antiques dealer. The dealer sold them to DHS Designs, an antique shop in Queenstown, Maryland. The urns (priced at $125,000) never sold, and in 2010 the owner of DHS Designs closed his store and put the urns up for auction. Potomack Company, the Alexandria, Virginia, auction house assigned to handle the urns, advertised them in December 2010—which brought the urns to the attention of preservationists in the D.C. area. According to unnamed preservationist experts interviewed by "The Washington Post", the historic urns should have been restored or placed in a museum—not donated to private owners for sale. The U.S. Army, which manages Arlington National Cemetery, said it could not find the 1995 renovation contract and was unable to say what provisions for the urns' disposal had been made nor whether federal property and preservation agencies had been consulted before the urns were replaced.