The Estate of Ronnie James Dio is Auctioning Off 666 of His Personal Items
If you’ve ever coveted a six-foot tall animatronic sphinx, Freddie Kruger-style bladed gloves or a robot spider owned by the saintly Ronnie James Dio himself, now’s your chance: Julien’s Auctions will be selling off items from Dio’s estate, and there are some extremely metal — and incredibly unique — items on the block!
The auction, which will take place on September 14th and 15th, will feature 666 items of Dio’s personal property, including battle-tested stage props, original album artwork, guitars, Ronnie’s own jewelry and clothing, fan art and plain old ordinary furniture. It’s quite an eclectic mix. From Julien’s Auctions’ website:
“Highlights of the auction will feature items from the legendary singer’s stellar career with iconic bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio including; several pieces of original album artwork including the acrylic painting by Barry Jackson used as the cover for the 1984 Dio album The Last in Line (estimate $20,000–$30,000); his pair of moon and stars patchwork jeans worn extensively on stage with Rainbow (estimate $2,000–$4,000); Dio’s custom made violet suede vest with tails and red leather shin guards worn on stage and in promotional photographs for the 1985 Sacred Heart Tour (estimate $2,000–$4,000); a personalized Black Sabbath hooded velour robe from the 1981 Mob Rules tour worn regularly back stage (estimate $1,000–$2,000); Dio’s personal rolling wardrobe case (estimate $800–$1,200); some of the most ambitious and spectacular stage design rock has ever seen with props such as a monumental animatronic sphinx on plinth base from the 1984 The Last In Line tour (estimate $2,000–4,000) and a massive animatronic dragon’s head from the 1985 Sacred Heart tour (estimate $3,000–5,000); an array of Dio’s studio and stage used instruments and gear such as a custom Charvel guitar featuring a one–of–a–kind wizard paint motif (estimate $3,000–$5,000); a 1978 “Gold” record award commemorating Australian sales of the Rainbow album Rising (estimate $600–$800) and a 1978 “Gold” record award for the album Rainbow: On Stage (estimate $600–$800) and much more.”
Just saying, that animatronic dragon’s head would look mighty fine at the MS Mansion! Ya know, in case anyone wants to buy it for us. That’d be pretty cool. I’m just saying.
You can view the entire catalogue of items available right here, and register for the auction here. The auction will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square and online at JuliensLive.com starting at 10am on September 14th and 15th.
Thanks to friend of MetalSucks Nick O. for sending this in. Here are a few of the most badass items up for auction, courtesy of ArtNet:
