Year

Country

Home

People

Films

Articles

Store

In order to avoid creating an ‘emotional hullabaloo,’ Swedish film-maker Ingmar Bergman stipulated in his will that all his belongings should be auctioned off, and the much awaited event finally took place at Bukowskis auction house on Monday 28^th September 2009.   The event raised more than £2.2 million – which will go to the director’s family – and lasted for nine hours.   In total, 337 items were sold.   More than 8,000 people visited the auction house, and its website received more than 5,000 hits a day from around the world in the four days leading up to the auction.

The highest price raised was 1.03 million Kronor (£126,000) for a wooden model of Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre, which featured a tiny effigy of the director.   A chess set missing its white king sold for 1 million Kronor (£120,000).   It is believed to be the set used in the famous scene from The Seventh Seal.   Bidders also snapped up the director’s Golden Globe awards, his writing desk and wastepaper basket, and a red jumping jack given to him by his grandson Ola.

Bergman’s 84-acre estate on the Baltic island of Faro was also due to be auctioned later by Christies of London – much to the disappointment of his fans who had hoped it might be turned into a Bergman museum.

 [ADD]