The iconic sled from Orson Welles's 1941 classic Citizen Kane has sold for $14.75m (£11m) at auction, becoming the second most valuable piece of movie memorabilia ever sold. The only item to fetch more was a pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $32.5m (£24.2m) last December.
The buyer remains unknown, but the seller was director Joe Dante, who was given the sled in 1984 during a clearout at Paramount Studios, formerly home to RKO Pictures. A crew member approached him while he was working on Explorers and offered the wooden prop. 'I was astonished. Since I am a huge fan of the movie, I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be glad to take it,’' Dante recalled.
The prop is primarily pine hardwood with original paint, but shows signs of wear and missing rails, possibly donated to the wartime drive for scrap metal. Dante used the sled in several of his films, including Explorers, The ‘Burbs, Gremlins 2: The New Batch and an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
Heritage Auctions executive vice president Joe Maddalena described the sale as 'one of the most important events in entertainment auction history,' adding that props are 'mythic objects' that tell the story of Hollywood's greatest moments. Other lots in the auction included a filming miniature X-wing from The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones's bullwhip given to Prince Charles by Harrison Ford, and Austin Powers's green velvet suit.
