Remarkable Items Sold on Auctions in June

Horse Sculpture

A horse made of old metal pieces. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.

At the beginning of the month, the sculpture created by Deborah Kay Butterfield was sold at Palm Beach Modern Auctions. It is a horse sculpture made of old metal, which the creator has collected herself. It took the master several months to create this beautiful horse sculpture, and a group of assistants helped her in the process. The lot was sold for $70,400, which is an amount almost three times greater than predicted.

Abolitionist Banner

Antislavery banner of 1861. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.

The second lot in this review is a historically significant and iconic object. This is an abolitionist banner, which was sold on June 22-23. It propagates freedom from slavery, and it was used during a convention in Rochester. It is known that the lot was sold for $46,800. Interestingly, the new owner of this remarkable item is Jeff Bridgman. He has been tracking the lot for two decades and finally got lucky enough to acquire this precious object in his collection.

Drawing from Antoine de Saint Exupéry's letter

Manuscript and watercolors (Antoine de Saint Exupéry). Artcurial image.

This month, an auction was held in Paris during which an exclusive lot was displayed. It was a drawing from a letter from the French writer Antoine de Saint Exupéry. The press service of the Artcurial auction house reported that the lot was sold for €240,500. As it comes from the image below, the drawing shows the main character in "The Little Prince". The drawing is made in watercolor and dated April 1943 - May 1944.

Tricorn

Napoleon’s lost tricorn. Jean-Philippe Ksiazek / AFP image.

The tricorn that once belonged to Napoleon was sold at an auction for €350,000. It is known that the French emperor lost his hat in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Le Figaro reported that after the defeat of the French in this battle, the hat was picked up by someone. Its new owner was a Dutch dragoon. Since that moment, more than 200 years have passed, and the hat “changed” seven owners.

Ray Gun

The ray gun from the famous "Return of the Jedi". Gabe Ginsberg image /Getty Images.

The weapon which Han Solo (Harrison Ford) used in the “Return of the Jedi” movie was sold during Julien's Auctions. As the press service of this auction house reported, the famous blaster was sold for $550,000. Importantly, this was the top-selling item during the event, which shows that the movie still hasn’t lost its popularity.