A lightsaber used by Darth Vader in Star Wars sold for nearly $5m on Thursday, far above its estimate. The prop appeared in the famous "I am your father" scene from The Empire Strikes Back, The Guardian reported.
The saber was used in the 1980 film and again in 1983's Return of the Jedi. It sold for $4.875m at an event Heritage Auctions called "the Ultimate Star Wars auction". Auctioneers had expected it to fetch more than $1m.
Heritage Auctions said the sale set a world auction record for any Star Wars prop used on screen. The previous high was the auction house's own sale in July. Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and severed hand from The Empire Strikes Back fetched $3.75m then.
The Vader saber was one of 27 lightsaber props in the sale. They included sabers used by Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. Other lots from George Lucas's universe included a blaster used by Boba Fett. A Yoda puppet hand from the character's first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back was also on offer.
Brian Chanes, senior director of Hollywood and entertainment at Heritage Auctions, said the Vader saber was "like the Holy Grail" to a Star Wars collector. "It's the one on the set," he said. "It's from the most iconic sequence of the entire franchise."
The buyer was not named.