Russell Crowe earns millions from 'divorce auction'

Memorabilia from 'Gladiator' brought in the most amount of money

SYDNEY:

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe's unusual "divorce auction" of personal items and movie memorabilia, including Gladiator props and a leather jockstrap he wore in Cinderella Man, exceeded expectations and raked in millions of dollars for the Australian star.

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The Sotheby's sale of more than 200 items in Sydney, titled Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce, was held late on his 54th birthday (April 7) and brought in about US$2.8 million.

"Not a bad hourly rate for a five hour shift," Crowe tweeted after the auction.

The Art of Divorce

In case anyone is interested ... $3.7m at the coal face and around $350k of conversations ongoing ... and a bunch of stuff I didn’t really want to sell coming home ... not a bad hourly rate for a 5 hour shift . Hope you are happy and busy

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) April 7, 2018

Sotheby's Australia chief executive officer Gary Singer said the auction was "incredibly successful", with the most popular items from Crow's Oscar-winning film Gladiator.

"People just went mad. It was Crowe-mania," he told television broadcaster Channel Seven.

Among the items that were fiercely contested was a fully functioning replica Roman chariot from Gladiator, which was estimated to fetch up to $7,600 but went for$50,000.

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The breastplate he wore for his death scene in the film sold for $96,000 while a wooden training sword went for $15,000 and a metal one for $53,000.

The brown leather boxer's jockstrap from Cinderella Man was expected to attract $380 to $460 but sold for $5,300.

Crowe made a surprise appearance at the auction ahead of bidding for a 1890 violin created by Italian craftsman Leandro Bisiach Snr, which sold for $104,000.

"It's been a lot of fun putting it together for you," he told bidders, adding that the violin, which he used during filming of the 2003 movie Master and Commander, was "very dear to my heart".

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Some of Crowe's collection of artwork also went under the hammer with The Suitor by Australian painter Charles Blackman going for $276,000, along with jewellery he had given to his ex-wife and actor Danielle Spencer, and sports memorabilia.

Singer said Crowe was "an avid collector" and the items had been kept by the celebrity in his Sydney and rural homes.

"He had rooms full of items and many items in storage," Singer added. "You wouldn't even notice we had been in the house and taken the 227 items that we have on display here."

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