A single feather from an extinct New Zealand bird has broken the record for the most expensive one sold at an auction.
The extinct huia bird feather sold for $NZD46,521 ($42,914) at the highly competitive auction.
“We are very pleased that this rare item of natural history has achieved such huge bidder interest,” said head of decorative arts at Webb’s Auction House Leah Morris.
She said it highlighted the fragility of our ecosystem and the importance of looking after fauna.
Buyers had to have a permit from the country’s culture and heritage ministry before purchase.
The huia bird’s last credible reported sighting was in 1907.
Their feathers were very important to New Zealand Māori and were often worn as headpieces by chiefs and their families and also gifted or traded, the auction house said.
The legacy of Saturday Night Fever is stayin’ alive, as the dancefloor featured in the classic disco movie is set to fetch as much as $450,000 ($US300,000) at auction next month.
With its flashing colourful lights, the dancefloor provided the perfect backdrop for John Travolta’s character, Tony Manero, to flaunt his now-iconic groovy dance moves.
Now, almost 50 years later, it is the star lot in the “Hollywood Legends” sale, to be held by Julien’s Auctions on June 12-15 in Los Angeles and online.
The dancefloor measures seven metres by five metres, and features 288 lightbulbs patterns, Julien’s Auctions said.
It was made for the movie and fitted at the 2001 Odyssey Disco in Brooklyn, New York, where many of the scenes were set and filmed.
After filming, the dancefloor stayed at the club until it closed down, when it was bought by an employee.
