A section of the original spiral staircase from the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, sold for more than 450,000 euros (approximately 780 million won) at auction.
According to Reuters on Thursday, a section of the Eiffel Tower's spiral staircase was sold for 450,160 euros (approximately 780 million won) at the Artcurial auction house in Paris. The price was about three times higher than the upper end of the pre-auction estimate of 120,000 to 150,000 euros.
The section sold this time is part of the iron spiral staircase made in 1889, the year the Eiffel Tower was completed. It consists of 14 steps, stands about 2.75 meters tall, and weighs 1.4 tons. Originally part of the spiral staircase connecting the second and third floors of the Eiffel Tower, it was used by visitors moving up to the top observation deck.
The staircase no longer remains at the Eiffel Tower. It was dismantled during the tower's modernization in 1983 to install elevators. At that time, the approximately 160-meter-long staircase was divided into 24 sections and sold separately, and the section that came up for auction this time had been kept by a private collector for more than 40 years. An elevator was installed where the staircase used to be, and visitors today take the elevator up to the top observation deck. The identity of the winning bidder was not disclosed.
Sabrina Dolla, who heads the Art Deco design department at Artcurial Paris, said, "Buying a piece of the Eiffel Tower means buying a piece of Paris, and it also carries the imagination and symbolism of the Eiffel Tower." Dolla added that "since the 2024 Paris Olympics, interest in what the Eiffel Tower symbolizes and its aesthetic appeal has been growing again," noting that demand from collectors is increasing.
This is not the first time a piece of the Eiffel Tower's staircase has fetched a high price. In 2016, a similar staircase section sold at Sotheby's for 523,800 euros (approximately 910 million won). In 2008, another section sold to a private American collector for 550,000 euros (approximately 960 million won), setting a record high at the time.
Among the 24 sections sold separately in 1983, some are preserved at landmarks and museums around the world, including near the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Yoshii Foundation garden in Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan, and Walt Disney World in Florida.
