Giant statue of Stalin available on eBay
9-TONNE PIECE AMONG UNIQUE HISTORICAL ITEMS AVAILABLE ONLINE
If a 3.5-metre-tall bronze statue of a notorious dictator is the perfect piece to fill out your garden, you’re in luck: eBay has on offer what appears to be a genuine statue of Joseph Stalin in mint condition.
The asking price is a little steep at US$119,000, but the shipping is free. The ad specifies that no returns will be accepted.
The eBay ad, which has been up since at least the fall of 2017, shows a statue of the moustachioed Soviet strongman grasping a book with one hand while clenching the other patriotically across his chest.
The statue itself stands at about 3.4 metres tall, but gets a boost from a onemetre pedestal. It weighs nine tonnes.
Some photos show it standing upright on the pedestal, possibly in its former location in the town, while one photo shows it strapped to a mattress on top of wooden pallets.
The seller says it was auctioned off by the Czech town of Litomerice “many years ago;” news reports indicate the town auctioned it in 2010, wanting to raise funds for a statue of a famous poet who died there. One report from the time cites an estimated asking price of 4,500 euros, or about $7,000, a bargain compared to what sellers are seeking now. Many Soviet bloc cities “de-Stalinized” and took down statues in the years following the dictator’s death in 1953, and particularly after Nikita Khrushchev’s famous 1956 speech in which he denounced Stalin’s crimes. Most were melted down or destroyed, while some found their way into private collections. The Litomerice statue seems to have lingered, moved around to various locations in the town before finally getting sold off. “This statue is probably one of the last originals in such a perfect condition on the private market, so this seems to be the last chance, to get hold of such an original with historic background!” says the Austriabased seller in the posting. (The seller, who has a 100 per cent positive rating on eBay, only provides contact information upon purchase.) The statue has been put up for sale on numerous European websites over the past few years, and appears to have had at least one previous private owner who lived in Slovakia.
The ad says it can ship to Canada, but is silent on how exactly it would get here. “Shipping worldwide FREE!” it says, though the shipping page also notes the seller “has specified an extended handling time for this item.” Historical items are often sold on eBay, though the website has certain restrictions — particularly when it comes to Nazis.
“We recognize the historical significance of World War II and that there are many militaria collectors around the world,” the website says. “We allow some related historical items, but ban others, particularly those that amount to Nazi propaganda, or that are disrespectful to victims.” It doesn’t list any restrictions on Stalin-related items.
If a Stalin statue isn’t your cup of tea, the same seller is looking to part with an iron statue of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin. The asking price of US$49,000 reflects the poorer condition and the smaller size of this statue, about two metres. It features Lenin “standing in typical pose holding a notebook and pencil in suit and waistcoat, on a rectangular raised plinth,” the ad says.
The provenance of this statue is more of a mystery. The seller has done some investigating of the sculptor, and narrowed it down to two Czech towns it may have stood in: Horice and Zakupy. Lenin memorabilia, however, is a little more common in North America. Most famously, Seattle has had a five-metre statue of Lenin since 1995, brought over by a man who wanted to use it to promote a Slovakian restaurant. Its owner died shortly after it arrived, and the family that owns it has been unsuccessfully trying to sell it for US$250,000. The statue is frequently vandalized, sometimes with red paint to show blood on his hands.
If the Lenin statue is still outside your budget, or you’re looking for something more conventional, the statue seller has three other items up for auction on eBay. Each one is a tasteful wine bottle holder; the asking price is $58.
THIS STATUE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LAST ORIGINALS.