The torso armour Russell Crowe wore for his Oscar-winning role in Gladiator has eclipsed expectations at a Sydney auction, selling for 125,000 Australian dollars (£68,000).
Sotheby’s Australia had estimated that the stunt cuirass worn in the 2000 blockbuster would fetch between AU$20,000 and AU$30,000 (£11-16,000).
But much of the movie memorabilia auctioned Saturday by the Australia-based New Zealander as part of his divorce settlement exceeded expectations.
The calm before the storm .I’ll post a Facebook link here around 6pm Sydney time pic.twitter.com/sYdXLglWa6
A cheerful Crowe, who turned 54 on Saturday, made an appearance after a woman sang Happy Birthday and the crowd gave him three cheers immediately before Lot 31, a violin by Leandro Bislach, sold for AU$135,000 (£74,000).
The violin was the most expensive sale in the early part of the night and is likely to bring the highest price of the auction.
Russell Crowe’s Gladiator armour exceeds expectations at auction
