(no subject)
Star Fleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard commanded it, and now some Trekkie owns it.
A model of the Starship Enterprise used in the pilot and title sequences of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation sold for $US576,000 ($774,000) at an auction of costumes, sets and props from 40 years of the science fiction franchise.
Built by Industrial Light and Magic, the 198cm miniature of the Enterprise-D made its television debut in 1987 in the episode Encounter at Farpoint, and then was used in many subsequent episodes, as well as the film, Star Trek Generations.
Before the sale, Christie's auction house had said the model would probably sell for between $US25,000 and $US35,000 ($33,600-$47,000) - but estimates have been surpassed regularly during the three-day auction in Manhattan.
More than 1000 items from the archives of CBS Paramount Television Studios went on the block over three days at Christie's auction house, and by early afternoon fans of the series had forked out more than $US4.9 million ($6.58 million) for set furniture, pointy Vulcan ears and other props.
Some Christie's employees taking bids over the telephone wore Star Trek uniforms, and a live feed of the auction was carried on the History Channel's website.
Other top sellers at the action included a replica of Captain Kirk's command chair from the bridge of the spaceship on the original Star Trek series.
The painted wooden chair was only a re-creation for a 1996 episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which mixed action from that newer series with old footage, but it still sold for $US62,400 ($83,854).
A model of the Starship Enterprise used in the pilot and title sequences of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation sold for $US576,000 ($774,000) at an auction of costumes, sets and props from 40 years of the science fiction franchise.
Built by Industrial Light and Magic, the 198cm miniature of the Enterprise-D made its television debut in 1987 in the episode Encounter at Farpoint, and then was used in many subsequent episodes, as well as the film, Star Trek Generations.
Before the sale, Christie's auction house had said the model would probably sell for between $US25,000 and $US35,000 ($33,600-$47,000) - but estimates have been surpassed regularly during the three-day auction in Manhattan.
More than 1000 items from the archives of CBS Paramount Television Studios went on the block over three days at Christie's auction house, and by early afternoon fans of the series had forked out more than $US4.9 million ($6.58 million) for set furniture, pointy Vulcan ears and other props.
Some Christie's employees taking bids over the telephone wore Star Trek uniforms, and a live feed of the auction was carried on the History Channel's website.
Other top sellers at the action included a replica of Captain Kirk's command chair from the bridge of the spaceship on the original Star Trek series.
The painted wooden chair was only a re-creation for a 1996 episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which mixed action from that newer series with old footage, but it still sold for $US62,400 ($83,854).