An original model of E.T., created for Steven Spielberg's beloved film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," did not find a buyer after being put up for auction, Sotheby's auction house in New York has said.
The piece, a little over a meter high and which had been estimated to fetch between $600,000 (€542,000) and $900,000 (€813,000), comes from the collection of Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.
The three-time Oscar winner - including one for E.T. - died in 2012 at the age of 86."Rambaldi's beloved ET model is an extraordinary piece of film history," Sotheby's vice chair Cassandra Hatton told AFP.
"While it did not find a buyer during today's auction, its significance remains undiminished."
The model offered for sale is one of three used by Spielberg for his 1982 film.In a statement before the auction,
Ms Hatton described the model as embodying "the artistry of an era before CGI (computer-generated imagery) took hold, a nostalgic and iconic piece of Hollywood history as captivating as the stories themselves."
Sotheby's said that a separate E.T. sketch made by Rambaldi had sold yesterday for over $53,000 (€47,000), well above its top-end estimate of $18,000 (€16,000).
In 2022, a metallic automaton representing E.T. and also used during the shooting of the successful film was sold for $2.56m (€2.3m) at an auction organised by the American house Julien's.
