Another prominent set piece from the legendary film, among others, sold for a high price.
For avid collectors, nothing beats a prestigious auction house. According to The Hollywood Reporteranother coveted set prop from the legendary film The Wizard of Oz (1939) sold at Heritage Auctions earlier this month for a whopping $495,000. The piece in question was the famous large hourglass wielded by the Wicked Witch of the West.
According to the item description on the auction house official website, the prop, made of wood and papier-mâché, is the “most famous and recognizable timepiece in film history”. In one of her many scenes with Dorothy, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West threatens the young girl by waving the hourglass filled with menacing red sand. In one of her many famous quotes from the movie, she declares that Dorothy’s life will end when all the sand has been emptied to the bottom of the hourglass.
“You see? That’s how long you’ve got to live! And it’s not long, my beauty! It’s not long! I can’t wait forever to get those shoes!”
In addition to the witch’s hourglass, a number of other set pieces from the film have been sold over the years. The most famous is still undoubtedly Dorothy’s pair of ruby slippers, of which a handful of pairs exist. One pair was bought at auction in 2012 for $2 million with the help of Leonardo DiCaprio, while another pair is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC
The star-studded lineup at Heritage Auctions this year
Other items up for auction included the eccentric brown waistcoat worn by young Matthew Broderick Ferris Bueller’s day off (1986), a striped jacket by Mary Poppins (1964), and a 1991 Harley Davidson motorcycle ridden by Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of Terminator 2: doomsday (1991).