This is a quick update to recent articles about the “not a prototype” Andrew Ainsworth stormtrooper helmet that Ewbank’s put up at auction this month (“not a prototype” being interesting in that the maker, Andrew Ainsworth, himself claims the helmets of this style are prototypes). In any event, this one did in fact sell at auction for £3,500 GBP (hammer price). [Read more…]
An interesting discussion has broken out on the official Ewbank’s Facebook page about the Stormtrooper helmet in their upcoming auction (which I wrote about earlier this month – see “Andrew Ainsworth “Prototype” Stormtrooper Helmet Withdrawn By Christie’s in 2014 Now Offered by Ewbank’s in 2015“). Ewbank’s has stated in this Facebook discussion that the helmet “is not a prototype“. However, they include a letter as proof of authenticity in which the helmet’s maker, Andrew Ainsworth, states in writing that the helmet “was an early prototype made by myself“. This is the exact same helmet that Christie’s put up for auction last year and then decided to withdraw from their own auction. What does Ewbank’s have to say about Christie’s pulling the same item from their auction? Per Ewbank’s, Christie’s “mis-catalogued [it] as a ‘prototype’“. Yet Christie’s marketed the helmet as what Mr. Ainsworth claimed it to be… a “prototype”. Confused yet? So is Lindsay Muir (wife of Brian Muir, who sculpted the Stormtrooper armor and Darth Vader helmet for Star Wars). She entered into this public debate with Ewbank’s on their Facebook page regarding their helmet up for auction. Ewbank’s closing remarks to Mrs. Muir (one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on these matters) includes the line, “[y]our view is certainly not my experience of bidders who are generally very well informed actually”. This, from the auction house who would seem to suggest that the maker of the artifact they have up for sale – who provided the letter regarding it’s provenance and authenticity – is flatly wrong about his own characterization the piece that he himself made and as he addressed it in that letter. It would seem that auction houses (like with Profiles in History’s last auction) are evolving to reject Andrew Ainsworth credibility on his own creation, while embracing that very lineage to help them sell these problematic artifacts.
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Following last month’s public auction offering of one of the “prototype” Star Wars stormtrooper helmets by Profiles in History (that went unsold), Ewbank’s has now offered one for sale in their own auction on December 3rd… Upon examination of the photos, it would appear to be the same one that Christie’s withdrew from their own sale last year (with Nate D. Sanders withdrawing their own example from their own auction just one month after Christie’s). [Read more…]
I’ve been tracking the public auction of prop helmets characterized as “prototype” stormtrooper helmets made for Star Wars: A New Hope for many years now, going back to 2008 wherein I first published an analysis of these helmets floating around the marketplace at the time, as well as some context with regards to their maker, Andrew Ainsworth. In the same article, I published archives of some of the past offerings of these helmets at public auction, including one from Profiles in History in their “Hollywood Auction 21” a decade ago (which passed as unsold at the time). I thought maybe we’d seen the last of these following a lot of public controversy, when finally last year both Christie’s and Nate D. Sanders put them up for sale and then withdrew them from auction, but with the latest Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 74”, we have yet another one, only now they’ve done away with the “prototype” moniker and call it a “ridgeback”. In any event, the piece went unsold at this week’s auction, so maybe the collecting market is still not buying it? [Read more…]
This is an update to the 2013 version of this same article. As with that 2013 feature, this one is prompted by another Bonhams auction offering for a fertility idol attributed to use in Raiders of the Lost Ark , this one referencing back to one of their older auctions in 2005. Due to public interest in discussing iconic props from the Indiana Jones films, and confusion in the marketplace with regards to the provenance and authentication of such pieces, I thought it appropriate to update my ongoing series of articles on the topic with the new information and photos (see: Raiders of the Lost Ark Fertility Idols In The Marketplace). [Read more…]
Four days ago, Original Prop Blog published an article (LINK) noting the Daily Mail wrote a piece promoting a Stormtrooper helmet auction in the Nate D. Sanders auction concluding this coming Thursday. The helmet had been described as a “prototype” from the original 1977 Star Wars film, with provenance from Andrew Ainsworth. Original Prop Blog has published a number of articles about these “prototype” helmets sold into the marketplace over the years, and reported in June that Christie’s withdrew one of these from their auctions at the time. Now, Nate D. Sanders has withdrawn this one from it’s own auction (though, as reported, it failed to sell in their March auction and in subsequent eBay auctions). [Read more…]
The Daily Mail must be an easy get for a puff piece on movie prop memorabilia, going by their latest article on the “prototype” stormtrooper helmet being put up for auction (again) by Nate D Sanders this month. It reads as though it was repurposed from the auction house material, without the benefit of any third party analysis or questions about the provenance of the item. A similar helmet was pulled from auction by Christie’s last month, and their have been questions raised about the background of these “prototype” stormtrooper helmets attributed to Andrew Ainsworth’s work on Star Wars: A New Hope going back for years now. [Read more…]
This is an update to the article published on Monday (see “Christie’s Withdraws “Prototype” Star Wars Stormtrooper Prop Helmet with Andrew Ainsworth Provenance from Upcoming Auction“). As mentioned in that prior article, unfortunately, no images were provided of the sides and back of the helmet. A friend in the UK previewed the upcoming Christie’s auction, and took photos of the “prototype” Storwtrooper prop helmet, which has since been withdrawn from their sale (#5446). These additional images are important, in that the single image provided in the online lot description/catalog only included one “straight on” style image which did not show whether the lower, back side of the helmet had the “ribbed” decoration (a detail that most other “prototypes” have shared). [Read more…]