Continuing Its Populist Turn, Sotheby’s Will Stage a Second ‘Star Wars’ Auction. (Sorry, Baby Yoda Won’t Be on the Block)

by admin

Dec 2, 2019

artnet

Star Wars
fever is at an all-time high,
between the Baby Yoda frenzy caused by Disney+ series
The Mandolorian
and the anticipation of
Star Wars: The Rise of
Skywalker, opening
December 20th. So it’s apt timing for a new Sotheby’s London sale
of Star Wars paraphernalia. Cheekily dubbed “Star Wars: Return of
the Auction”—it’s Sotheby’s
second Star Wars-related sale—the online auction closes on December
13.

Return of the Jedi promotional
C-3PO helmet (est. £15,000 – 25,000). Image courtesy of
Sotheby’s.

The most notable item among the
100 lots is a prototype of the iconic Imperial Stormtrooper helmet
from Star Wars: Episode
IV–A New Hope (1977), estimated to go between
£30,000 – 60,000 ($38,800–77,600).

The Empire Strikes Back character
size gauge chart by Ivor Beddoes (1978-79) (est. £10,000 – 15,000).
Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Also on the high end is a shiny
gold promotional C-3PO head from Return of the Jedi (1983) estimated at £15,000
– 25,000 ($19,400–32,300); the original 1977 concept art for the
American promotional campaign by Tom Jung, estimated at
£15,000 – 20,000 ($19,400 – 25,800); and a
character size chart made for the effects model-making department
(the little Jawa being the smallest, and Chewbacca being the
biggest, with Yoda—a late addition to the film—being notably
absent) by storyboard artist Ivor Beddoes for
The Empire Strikes
Back (1980), estimated
at £10,000–15,000
($12,900–19,400).

Han Solo 12-inch figure (1978) (est.
£400 – 600). Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Other noteworthy lots include a
rare poster for the Russian theatrical run of the first
Star Wars
film, which did not reach Russia
until 1990; an 8-inch AM radio in the shape of R2-D2, only
available to winners of a contest run by Coca-Cola in Japan; and a
Han Solo laser pistol still in its original packaging.

Christmas card and envelope (1980) (est.
£100 – 200). Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

The previous Sotheby’s Star Wars
auction in 2015 was more idiosyncratic, and arguably more
interesting. Named “Return of the NIGO”—the sale was made up
entirely of Japanese fashion designer NIGO’s super-collection—the
auction featured a Hungarian Boba Fett toy alongside oddities like
cookie jars, a 42-inch Chewbacca plush toy, and a Darth Vader
lightsaber signed by James Earl Jones.

Most of the NIGO collection went
above estimate, with the highlight being a Canadian 7-pack of
figurines that went for $32,500. The NIGO sale took in over
$500,000. We’ll see if the force is still with Sotheby’s this
second time around.

The post Continuing Its Populist Turn, Sotheby’s Will Stage
a Second ‘Star Wars’ Auction. (Sorry, Baby Yoda Won’t Be on the
Block) appeared first on artnet News.