Soprano's Blood-stained Outfit Fetches a Whopping $43K At Auction

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The blood-stained clothes of James Gandolfini, the U.S. actor who is best known for his portrayal of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano on the TV hit series "The Sopranos," fetched a whopping $43,750 at Christie's pop culture auction on Wednesday.

The auction displayed a collection of costumes from the critically acclaimed and Emmy-award-winning HBO drama series, ‘The Sopranos’. The Hollywood actor sold his personal costume wardrobe in 25 lots that grossed a total of $187,750, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $36,500.

The top lot of the grouping was Gandolfini’s blood-stained outfit which he wore in a pivotal scene during "Members Only" (The Sopranos' season-six opener), when Uncle Junior shoots Tony in a fit of dementia.

This fake bloody costume, including red-spattered pants, undershirt and black and gray-striped button-down, was the top-grosser of the auction at Christie's New York, bringing in $43,750 against an estimate of $2,000-3,000.

The second biggest selling ensemble was his four-piece set containing boxer shorts, a sleeveless undershirt, slippers and the blue, yellow and red-striped bathrobe that brought in $21,750, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of $US1500. This wardrobe was worn by the TV star in multiple scenes that took place in the Soprano family's New Jersey manse.

Gandolfini’s other top-selling item was a tan cotton bathrobe with lavender trim and 'S' insignia on the breast pocket. This tan robe that fetched $13,750 was worn by Tony in the pilot when he first got fed the fickle ducks in his pool that landed him in therapy.

In addition to Gandolfini's entire 25 lots wardrobe, costumes belonging to other lead characters in The Sopranos, including Domanic Chianese (Junior Soprano), Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts) and Robert Iler (A.J. Soprano) were also on the block in the Auction. The total of all 62 Soprano costumes brought in $227,931.

The proceeds from the auction will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization that helps soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I would like to thank Christie's for putting this auction together and helping to raise much needed funds for our guys," said Gandolfini who was present during the auction. "The 'Wounded Warrior Project' is a wonderful organization and it's an honor to contribute in any way to help them."

Christie’s is the world's leading art business with global auction sales in 2007 that totaled $6.3 billion. This auction house conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and currently remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful.

Founded in 1766 by James Christie, the auction hub offers more than 600 sales per year in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, cars and more. Prices range from $200 to over $80 million.

Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida. The organization’s mission is to assist those men and women of the United States armed forces who have been severely injured during the war on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots around the world.

Overwhelmed with the proceedings generated in Christie’s auction, especially by Soprano team costumes, the WWP's founder and executive director John Melia said: "Wounded Warrior Project is profoundly grateful to James Gandolfini and Christie's for their support of our mission to honor and empower wounded soldiers. The donation made from the sale of Mr. Gandolfini's wardrobe as Tony Soprano will directly benefit those that have been wounded.”