Christie's Pop Culture auction nets $1,864,144

KOLKATA: The Pop Culture sale at Christie's South Kensington realised a total of £1,208,913/$1,864,144/€1,424,100 and was sold 72% by lot and 86% by value. The top lot was an important wedding dress worn by Elizabeth Taylor for her first wedding to Conrad 'Nicky' Hilton, 1950 which fetched £121,875/$187,931/€143,569 against a pre-sale estimate of £30,000-50,000.

Caitlin Graham, junior specialist, Popular Culture, said in an email statement: ""A very busy saleroom saw competitive bidding and strong results achieved for memorabilia from every decade of film and music history over the past 120 years. A world auction record price was set for Jim Morrison lyrics which came from the collection of Red Ronnie, and a dress owned by Amy Winehouse set a record price of £47,475. Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress attracted global interest and we were delighted to have been entrusted with the sale of such an iconic piece of memorabilia from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Since it was unveiled, the dress attained universal appreciation, resulting in it realising £121,875, doubling its pre-sale estimate and reflecting the value and rarity of such an important piece of fashion and film history. We are especially pleased that it was bought by an institution.""

Nicolette Tomkinson, director, head of Popular Culture, Posters & Vintage Couture, said: ""This sale attracted buyers from around the globe bidding on the phones and via Christie's LIVE. Following the success of '50 Years of James Bond - The Auction', held at Christie's South Kensington in 2012, the Breitling Top Time watch used by Sean Connery as Bond in Thunderball attracted fierce competition and realised over £100,000 further demonstrating the strength of the market for rare James Bond memorabilia. We are thrilled that the Skyfall motorbike which was sold to benefit BBC Children in Need fetched £25,000.""