Michael Jackson's "moonwalk" glove sold for US$350,000
Posted: 22 November 2009 1522 hrs

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NEW YORK: The rhinestone-encrusted glove worn by pop icon Michael Jackson for his first "moonwalk" dance in 1983 sold Saturday for US$350,000 at a frenzied auction in New York.

The sparkling piece of pop history, customised from a simple left-handed golf glove still marked "Made in Korea," was the climax of an auction featuring more than 70 items from the late singer's career.

Including commission, the glove's final, pre-tax price was US$420,000.

The pre-sale estimate at the "Music Icons" sale by Julien's Auctions in New York had been for the glove to go for a modest US$40,000 to US$60,000.

But with Jackson mania surging five months after his death, frenzied bidders from around the world and at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square sent the price rocketing.

Bidding for the glove opened at US$10,000, immediately shot to US$120,000, reached US$220,000 within another minute, and kept on going.

Other memorabilia sold included sparkle-encrusted shoes and socks, portraits of Charlie Chaplin drawn by Jackson as a child, an autographed shirt, a 1985 Mercedes, handwritten letters, and posters.

Almost every lot was sold, commonly at three or more times the estimated price and often at least 10 times over, with bidders from Australia, Dubai, France, Hong Kong and Japan competing by telephone or Internet with the raucous, highly excited crowd in the room.

A black jacket decorated with multiple zips and buckles that Jackson wore for his 1987-1989 "Bad World Tour" - his first as a solo artist - sold for US$225,000 before commission, leaving the estimated price of US$8,000 to US$10,000 in the dust.

A fedora hat estimated to go for just US$1,000 to US$2,000 ended up going for US$22,000.

Even a simple signed photograph of the Jackson Five sold for US$1,600, way above the US$200 to US$400 estimate.

Jackson regularly added a single glove to his costume in concert or in his ground-breaking music videos, and many are in the hands of collectors.

Another crystal-studded white glove sold in Melbourne in September for US$49,000.

But the glove sold Saturday by Julien's has a special claim to fame as the one worn when Jackson first performed his instantly cult "moonwalk" dance.

Darren Julien of Julien's Auction said the golf glove originally cost about US$30.

Jackson had it adorned with Swarovski crystals and wore it in a televised concert marking Motown's 25th anniversary during which he performed "Billie Jean" and unveiled the sliding, backward steps of the new dance.

"This was his most historical performance... It was his first performance of 'moonwalk.' He performed it in his kitchen at home two nights before," Julien said.

Jackson died on June 25, aged 50, at his rented mansion in Los Angeles after an overdose of prescription drugs.

The singer revolutionised the pop music industry and created some of the world's biggest hits, but he also had a troubled personal life and was accused on several occasions of abusing small children.

He remains big business in death.

"This Is It," the behind-the-scenes movie of Jackson's preparations for a comeback concert planned before his death, raked in more than US$200 million in its first two weeks.

- AFP/yb