RBG White Glove Sale Raises Nearly Half A Million For SOS Children’s Villages
The personal collection of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg featured a gold collar, lace gloves, and a gavel, which soared past estimates
Los Angeles – The Personal Collection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg online sale concluded on Friday, September 16, in spectacular fashion with a flurry of activity extending bidding well past the planned closing time. The auction, the final from the collection of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice, achieved white glove status with all lots selling well above their estimates and achieving $516,090 overall. Proceeds from the auction will form the basis of The RBG Endowment Fund, a charitable fund established by SOS Children’s Villages, the world’s largest organization dedicated to caring for children without parental care or who are at risk of losing it.
The top lot of the sale was one of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s iconic judicial collars, gilt glass beads in a woven design, which achieved more than 58 times its estimate when it sold for $176,775. During her trailblazing 27-year service on the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg chose to style her judicial robes with bold collars, and this was a rare opportunity to own a part of her signature look as many of the others were donated to major museums. An additional signature accessory of which realized exceptional results were two pairs of Justice Ginsburg’s lace gloves with the cream pair selling for $12,750 and the black pair, similar to the ones worn in her iconic portrait for Time’s “100 Most Influential People” (2015), reached $16,575. Also highlighting the sale was a wooden gavel from Justice Ginsburg’s chambers, most recently used at a 2nd Circuit Court conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, which sold for $20,400.
Additional highlights include:
- A pair of judicial copper and wood bookends featuring a stamped and painted image of Justice and the initials “RBG” in gothic letters sold for 51 times its estimate at $15,300. The bookends were an early gift to Justice Ginsburg, just a year into her appointment to the Supreme Court.
- A Votes for Women Seven Piece Tea Service, a reproduction honoring the suffragette tea party at Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island in 1914 and gifted by her clerks, sold for $10,837, 36 times its estimate.
- A Framed “Dissent” Silhouette poster, sent to Justice Ginsburg by fans and hung proudly in her chambers, sold for $16,575, eleven times its estimate.
- Achieving 36 times its estimate, Justice Ginsburg’s black and gold opera glasses, engraved with “Southern District of New York” sold for $10,837.
In 2019, Justice Ginsburg donated a portion of her Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture to SOS Children’s Villages USA. Following her death, personal items were donated to SOS Children’s Villages by the Ginsburg family to seed The RBG Endowment Fund, which will be governed by a dedicated committee comprised of SOS Children’s Villages USA leadership, members of Justice Ginsburg’s family and others as invited.
Each year, 5.5% of The RBG Endowment Fund will be directed to one or more specific programs in the SOS Children’s Villages portfolio. Non-political and non-sectarian, SOS Children’s Villages’ holistic programs are designed to ensure sustained impact and focus on children and their families across all aspects of life, as well as strengthening the communities in which they live.
About SOS Children’s Villages
Established in 1949, SOS Children’s Villages is the world’s largest organization focused on ensuring that children and young people without parental care – or who are at risk of losing it – grow up with the care, relationships and support they need to become their strongest selves. SOS Children’s Villages builds loving, stable families for vulnerable children in 138 countries and territories. In addition to providing family-based care for children who would otherwise grow up alone, SOS Children’s Villages supports vulnerable families so children can stay with their caregivers and helps youth navigate the road to adulthood. Through family strengthening programs, long-term care for children, education, job skills training and emergency relief efforts, SOS Children’s Villages provides life-changing support to more than one million children and families worldwide each year. Visit www.sos-usa.org to learn more.
About Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and collectables, motor cars and a luxury division, including jewellery, watches, wine and whisky. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 53 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com
