$10,240
The original Olympic torch carried by Pelé as official vanguard of the South American leg of the 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay. The 142-day international relay culminated in the lighting of the sacred Olympic Fire in Athens, Greece, during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Olympic flame commemorates the primordial fire said to have been stolen from the king of the gods, Zeus, by Prometheus in ancient Greek mythology and then gifted to mankind. The Olympic flame begins its journey at the site of the original Olympic Games in Greece, where it is ignited using a parabolic reflector to harness the sun’s energy. Once the fire is lit it begins its international odyssey, when it is hand carried by celebrities, dignitaries, and honorees and seen by millions of people around the world. For the 2004 Olympics, the flame was ferried across oceans in a modified miner’s lamp on board a specially outfitted 747 named Zeus. The flame visited every habitable continent on Earth that year, including, for the first time, Africa, India, and South America, where Pelé was the primary bearer. Pelé was brought to tears as he carried the torch from Maracanã Stadium, the site of his record-breaking 1,000th goal in 1969, and into the streets of Rio de Janeiro, which were filled with cheering spectators. The torch’s graceful design, stylized to represent the gentle curve of a flame, is composed of a wood shaft made from an olive tree partially enveloped by an outer shell of brushed
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2016-06-07
