Russell Crowe divorce auction earns actor millions selling Gladiator chariot and other film props

The auction, titled 'The Art of Divorce,' was hosted by Sotheby's in Sydney

Russell Crowe has made millions after marking the divorce from his ex-wife Danielle Spencer by auctioning off over 200 of his personal items.

The auction - titled 'The Art of Divorce' - was hosted by Sotheby's on Saturday night (7 April) in Sydney on the actor's 54th birthday and what would have been the former couple's 15th wedding anniversary.

He appeared on stage to introduce items including a prop sword from 2000 film Gladiator and an 1890 Milanese violin used in Master and Commander which ended up being sold for $135,000 (£73,000).

Props used in the Ridley Scott swords and sandal epic made some of the auction's most money with The Guardian reporting that the price of his character's breastplate quadrupled within seconds starting out at $20,000 (£11,000) and later selling for $125,000 (£68,000).

The National Museum of Australia got involved in the bidding war, eventually acquiring the Doc Marten boots he wore in 1992 film Romper Stomper ($10,000) and his costume from 1993 family film The Silver Brumby ($2,000) while other props that were sold included his Master and Commander costume, which went for $115,000 (£63,000), a vest he wore in Les Miserables which went for $12,000 (£6.5k) as well as the leather jockstrap he wore in Cinderella Man which managed $7,000 (£4,000).

Most intriguingly, Crowe auctioned off a mosasaur skull from the Cretaceous period that once belonged to Leonardo DiCaprio. it went for $65,000.

The evening's biggest numbers were reserved for Crowe's collection of artwork including Charles Blackman painting The Suitor which fetched for $360,000.


 A breastplate worn by Crowe in 'Gladiator' went for $125,000 
 (Rex Features)

Crowe, after the five-hour event - which at one stage saw assembled bidders sing a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to their host - announced he made $3.7m (£2.1m) from the auction with “around $350k of conversations ongoing.”

He quipped: “Not a bad hourly rate for a 5-hour shift.”

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook