Pair of Louis Comfort Tiffany-style bronze lamp bases. Featuring moulded foliate motifs. Each with dual light sockets, pull chains, and decorative finials. No shades.
Provenance: From the estate of Jerry Hal Saliterman (1947-2025), the career criminal identified by federal authorities as the mastermind behind the Ruby Slippers Heist, the famous prop from The Wizard of Oz.
In August 2005, Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the display case at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, MN. Saliterman was a second-generation fence who took possession of the slippers immediately after the heist. The slippers would stay hidden with Saliterman for the next 13 years until recovered in a 2018 FBI sting. These items come from a deaccession of evidence pertaining to his criminal case. A fixture of the Minnesota underworld for decades, this collection offers a rare look into the life of the man who successfully eluded the FBI for nearly two decades, managing a sophisticated retail theft ring while keeping one of the world’s most famous treasures tucked away in a grocery bag. These iconic shoes sold for $28 million after being recovered from Saliterman’s possession.
(Each) Height: 29 1/2 in x diameter: 9 in.
Condition: No breaks, bends, or losses. Some tarnishing. and light scratches. Along the top of one lamp, there is a small area of verdigris patination. To each base, there are some accretions and areas where dust has accumulated. Light wear to the feet. Not tested for functionality.
Share this lot:
