This 32-inch-high wooden camera model from Nikon was snapped up for $14,955 by a UK vendor.
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy of Sworders
STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET, U.K. – Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers offered 575 objects, each more unusual than the rest, during its Out of the Ordinary sale on February 7 that totaled $256,045. The top seller was almost surreal in its scale and rarity: a wooden model of a 1955 Nikon S2 Rangefinder camera from the late Twentieth Century for $14,955. Made to scale, the model was created for retailers to exhibit new camera designs for prospective buyers. Instead of consistently bringing down expensive cameras for display and locking them up at night, Nikon sent these highly detailed wooden models complete with textured Rexine coverings, hand-painted silver dials and lettering, including a serial number, a transparent lens and a Plexiglass viewfinder window.
Tied in second place were two sculptures, with another following close behind in price. Whichever is most disturbing, we will leave up to the reader. First was a large, bronzed plaster bust of President Ronald Reagan with an indistinct signature and dated 1982. It was purportedly presented to Margaret Thatcher by Reagan during a state visit of that year, and sold for $14,168. Next at this price was a plaster death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), circa 1830, after the original taken by François Carlo Antommarchi. An inscription on the mask’s interior correlates with documents included with the lot, dating its provenance back to its acquisition around the time of its creation. After these was a patinated bronze death mask of Josef Stalin (1878-1953), after the cast taken upon his death in 1953 that is now in Gori, Georgia’s Stalin Museum, that bid up to $12,535.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium and converted using the exchange rate on the date of the auction. For more information, +44 01279 817778 or www.sworder.co.uk.
