December 16th, 2009
A piece of a staircase from the Eiffel Tower sold at auction for 85,000 euros (124,000 dollars) in Paris on Monday.
The 7.8-metre chunk of the tower’s spiral staircase, containing 40 steps, was part of a larger piece removed from the tower in 1983.
It was bought on Monday by an ironworker from the town of Troyes, east of Paris, during a sale of Paris-themed souvenirs at the Drouot auction house.
June 22nd, 2009
One of the Thinker sculptures by French master Auguste Rodin has been sold at auction for more than 3 million euros ($5.2 million) in Paris, Reuters reports.
The bronze, just 72.5 centimetres high, set a record for any of the Thinkers - a series of 21 sculptures made by Rodin in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
One of the most famous sculptures in the world, the Thinker represents a naked man sitting on a rock looking downwards, with his elbow on his knee and his chin resting on his hand.
October 21st, 2008
Last Monday at Drouot, Paris main auction room, a piece of Eiffel tower staircase was sold for 80,500 euros ($105,000). It’s 3 meters and a half high, 20-step section, 1 meter 70 cm round, and weights over 700 kilos.
It’s a piece of a staircase leading from second to third floor, which was cut in twenty four pieces and sold in auction in 1983.
The original 1911-step staircase leading up the tower was removed so that elevators could be installed. Gustave Eiffel himself climbed the staircase in the 1889 inaugural ceremony.
