A costume prop that was worn by stuntman and actor Sala Baker will be auctioned on September 4. While Baker’s name is relatively low-key, millions of film fans will instantly recognise the prop as Sauron’s helmet in Lord of the Rings.
The piece is listed in Propstore Auction’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction in Los Angeles alongside a Darth Vader lightsaber expected to realise as much as £2.2 million and an Indiana Jones whip with a £375,000 estimate.
To don the crown of the Lord of Mordor you’ll need between $70,000 and $140,000 (around £52,000 and £104,000) if Propstore’s estimates are on track.
The costume was worn by Sala Baker, a New Zealand born performer who portrayed Sauron in all three Lord of the Rings movies.
A detail of the helmet, that was worn by stunt performer Sala Baker. Image courtesy of Propstore Auctions.
This helmet was worn in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of the trilogy that shows Sauron’s back story, in which he seems sure to triumph – in his distinctive helmet – before Isildur of Gondor cuts the One Ring from his finger and temporarily defeats him.
Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001 and won four Oscars. The prop was made in New Zealand, home of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, by the Weta Workshop.
It is a lightweight costume piece made from resin, fibreglass, and rubber and lined with leather. It has been finished to appear battle damaged and scorched by Sauron’s own fiery self.
It is 11″ x 13″ x 24.25″ (28 cm x 33 cm x 61.5 cm).
The Lord of the Rings is part of a much larger Middle Earth fictional universe created by the English writer JRR Tolkien.
It has a huge following in all its forms.
In February this year, a signed, first-edition set of all three Lord of the Rings books realised £287,700.
A prop staff carried by the character Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen) made $325,000 in 2014. A sword used by Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen) made $437,000 in 2014.
