Property of various owners

Aragorn's sword Andúril, made for Viggo Mortensen, from Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King

New Line Cinema, 2003. Bright broad tapering blade with central fuller over most of its length, etched on each side with Quenya inscriptions between star, sun and moon motifs, the hilt comprising cross guard and pommel each with beaked pierced and gilt terminal, and black leather-covered grip over beech wood and cord bindings. In accordance with Tolkien's description, the blade is engraved, "Anar. Nányë Andúril I né Narsil i macil Elendilo. Lercuvantan i móli Mordórëo. Isil," which translates as "Sun. I am Andúril who was once Narsil, sword of Elendil. The slaves of Mordor shall flee from me. Moon." The sun and moon symbols are a reference to Narsil, which is a combination of the words Sun and Moon; the pommel is also engraved in Quenya on both sides, "Narsil essenya, macil meletya; Telchar carnéron Návarotessë," which translates as "Narsil is my name, a mighty sword; Telchar made me in Nogrod" ; together with a bespoke flying case and an Advanced U.S one-sheet poster for the film featuring an identical sword.

Provenance: The Collection of Sir Christopher and Lady Lee, accompanied by a signed letter of provenance.



This sword was designed by the trilogy's conceptual designer John Howe and made by Peter Lyon under Sir Richard Taylor's art direction at Weta Workshop. A master swordsmith, Lyon first began making swords in 1985 and has created weapons for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Avatar and The Hobbit, in addition to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Examples of his work reside in the permanent collection of the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, Great Britain.



Andúril, "the flame of the west," is prominently featured in J. R. R. Tolkien's epic novel The Lord Of The Rings as the principal weapon of Aragorn, forged from the shards of the sword Narsil. Narsil was King Elendil's sword, shattered during his battle with Sauron, the hilt subsequently used by Elendil's son Isildur to cut The One Ring from the finger of Sauron. Sir Peter Jackson's film adaptation includes a sword by the same name. The mythical shards of Narsil are said to have remained in the Elvish settlement Rivendell for over 3000 years until Arwen, who prophecies Aragorn's legacy, persuades her father Elrond to reforge the sword and present it to Aragorn, who renames it Andúril. Using the power of Andúril, Aragorn is able to bring forth the Dead Men of Dunharrow to fight alongside him and defeat Sauron's Orcs. The prophecy comes to fruition and with the sword, Aragorn is victorious. He is rewarded with his rightful title, King Elessar, thirty-fifth King of Gondor and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom.



This is the first time a hero sword Andúril from the critically acclaimed Lord of The Rings trilogy has appeared at auction. According to Weta Workshop, this sword was one of only four made for use by Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in Sir Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. As a hero props it was made for close-up visuals and not used for battle scenes. This sword was presented by Sir Peter Jackson to Sir Christopher Lee in gratitude for his learned knowledge of J. R. R. Tolkien's work and invaluable input during the production of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The Return of The King still retains the record for the greatest ever clean sweep at the Academy Awards®, receiving an award for each of its eleven nominations in 2004.

Overall length: 53 1/2 in.

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