It was in 1950 that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduced a rule to prevent Oscar statues from being sold without them first being offered back to the Academy for $1.
The rule has ensured that pre-1950-dated statuettes from Hollywood's most prestigious awards ceremony rarely appear at auction - and are thus highly coveted among collectors.
To date, the World Record price for an Academy Award remains the $1.54m that pop star Michael Jackson paid for a statuette back in 1999.
The award in question was David O Selznick's 'best film' Oscar for Gone with the Wind. But you don't need $1.54m in the bank to buy a rare piece of Gone Wind the Wind memorabilia...
 The rare and iconic painting shows stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh |
This image, featuring stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in a scene from the film, appeared on a well-known music box produced by the Edwin M Knowles China Co. They were distributed by the Bradford Exchange.
This image isn't a duplicate, but the original oil and canvas painting from which the music box graphics were produced. It is number five in the series of images produced, and is known by the title of the music boxes on which it appeared: "The Charity Bazaar".
Artist and collector William Chambers held this painting in his personal collection, along with a number of other original images from the series. This is the first time the original artwork is being offered for sale.
"The Charity Bazaar" carries a $5,000-$7,000 presale estimate, and will sell online in an auction based in Northbrook, Illinois, on February 22.
Eagle-eyed collectors will have spotted that another Bradford Exhange portrait on canvas, depicting a scene from the movie The King and I, is appearing in the same online auction. See our full report here for more information.
