New York (AFP)
Sotheby's auction house was hoping for a record $ 1 million for a pair of shoes made in the 1960s by Nike's co-founder, but they sold for three times less, while another pair worn by Michael Jordan, has not found a taker.
Sotheby's was betting on this pair of white spiked athletic shoes, dating back to the 60s and heralding the comma brand, to mark an online auction called "the Olympic collection", launched at the time of the Tokyo Olympics.
But the pair, made by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, and featuring a red arrow resembling the future iconic comma, was sold for $ 315,000, Sotheby's website said on Tuesday, far from the estimate announced between $ 800,000 and $ 1.2 million, which would have made them the most expensive sneakers in the world.
Among the other pieces put forward by Sotheby's for this collection, a pair of Converse Fastbreak, with which the American basketball legend Michael Jordan had walked the floor during qualifying for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, did not find buyer during this online sale, confirmed to AFP a spokesperson at Sotheby's.
The pair were estimated to be between $ 80,000 and $ 100,000.
During this sale, a pair of "Gold shoes" worn and signed by the quadruple American Olympic gold medalist (200 m, 400 m and relay) Michael Johnson, was sold for 31,500 dollars.
On the other hand, among the 64 lots put up for sale, a collector's card bearing the likeness of the same Michael Jordan, during his first season in the NBA in 1986-87, was sold for ten times more, at 315,000 dollars, confirming the strong growth in this market in recent years.
© 2021 AFP