A whip wielded by Harrison Ford in âIndiana Jones and the Last Crusadeâ that once belonged to Princess Diana has sold at auction for $525,000.
Thursday’s auction followed the sale of the Rosebud sled from “Citizen Kane,” which fetched an astounding $14.75 million, ranking it among the most expensive movie props ever sold.
They were part of the Summer Entertainment Auction being held all week by Heritage Auctions.
Heritage says the overall take has made it the second-highest grossing entertainment auction of all time, and thereâs still a day to go.
Still to be auctioned are Macaulay Culkin’s knit snow cap from “Home Alone,” a revolver used by Kurt Russell in “Wyatt Earp,” a set of “Hattori Hanzo” swords from “Kill Bill Vol. 1,” and a first edition collection of Harry Potter books signed by J.K. Rowling.
The whip sold on Thursday was employed in the Holy Grail trials during the climax of the 1989 film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” used by Harrison Ford’s character.
Ford gave it to then-Prince Charles at the filmâs U.K. premiere.
It was given as a gift to Princess Diana, who gave it to the current owner, who was not identified.
The buyer also was not identified.
âThe bullwhip is the iconic symbol of an iconic character of cinema history, Indiana Jones, and has been a highlight of this auction,â Joe Maddalena, Heritageâs executive vice president, said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The $525,000 price includes the âbuyers premiumâ attached to all auction items for the house that sells it.
Heritage said the nearly $15 million bid for the Rosebud sled puts it second only to the $32.5 million that Judy Garlandâs ruby slippers from âThe Wizard of Ozâ fetched in December. Neither of those buyers were identified either.
The sled was sold by longtime owner Joe Dante, director of films including âGremlins.â
âRosebudâ is the last word spoken by the title character in director Orson Wellesâ 1941 film âCitizen Kane,â and the hunt for its meaning provides the filmâs plot.
Many critics have regarded it as the best film ever made.
Long thought lost, the sled is one of three of the prop known to have survived.
Dante stumbled on it when he was filming on the former RKO Pictures lot in 1984.
He wasnât a collector, but knew the value of the sled and quietly preserved it for decades, putting it as an Easter egg into four of his own films.
Danteâs friend and mentor Steven Spielberg paid $60,500 for another of the sleds in 1982, and anonymous buyer paid $233,000 for the third in 1996.
