An unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary that sat behind a family's sofa near Buffalo for almost 30 years might be a lost Michelangelo worth a fortune, the New York Post reports.

To the family of retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Martin Kober, their artwork, known as The Lost Pieta, was simply called "The Mike." Sent to America in 1883 by a family member, the painting had hung in the Kobers' living room for years until being knocked down by a tennis ball sometime in the mid-1970s. It then went into storage — wrapped up and stuck behind the sofa.

After retiring in 2003, Kober began researching the 25-by-19-inch painting on a wood panel. An art historian was skeptical — until he saw it.

"I had assumed it was going to be a copy," said Antonio Forcellino, whose book La Pieta Perduta has been published in Italy and is due out next year in the states. "In reality, this painting was even more beautiful than the versions hanging in Rome and Florence. The truth was this painting was much better than the ones they had. I had visions of telling them that there was this crazy guy in America telling everyone he had a Michelangelo at home."

Infrared and X-ray examinations show alterations and unfinished portions, proving it's not a copy, he said.

A Michelangelo expert estimated its value at "millions and millions," which explains why Kober has moved his 500-year-old sofa painting to a bank vault.

Update at 5:39 p.m. ET: Credit for this story should go to the Buffalo News, which reported it Friday. Also, Kober lives nearer to Niagara Falls than to Buffalo. Apologies and hat tip to the old hometown paper.

(Posted by Michael Winter)