Question about an Indiana Jones ride collectible...

[shirleyfilms]

Has anyone seen this before?

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

I picked it up this weekend. Not sure of it's authenticity, tho. I couldn't find anything about it online, anywhere. I am sure I will be happy with it regardless of it's actual "authenticity" (it is a beautiful piece), but I am curious about details surrounding the item. Like... if the "pottery piece" is actually from one of the MOVIES? Or is it from the RIDE? And how many of these framed sets were given out (LE#?).

Anyone seen this before?

The description in the auction:

You are bidding on an EXTREMELY rare piece of Disney history. Given to a small group of Disney executives and select crew of the Indiana Jones film, this framed piece contains a piece of pottery from the set of the movies, and a map. The plaque reads "Member of the Premier Expedition" February 26-27 1993.

[misfits138]

What concerns me is the fact that the seller has 94% positive feedback (bad by Ebay standards) and only 25 feedback.

[Broadway Guru]

Well, considering the ride didn't open until 1995...

[Eeee-va]

When I saw the plaque it looked like it said 1995 to me...?

I wouldn't bet that the seller actually knew what he was talking about (the pottery could be from something else; it could have been for people who worked on the ride, etc.). I don't exactly see why they'd give something based on the ride, with movie set memorabilia, to people who were involved with the movie, several years after the movie came out. It's by no means impossible but barring evidence to the contrary, it seems more probable to me that it mostly went to Disney folks.

But frankly, the art and framing is probably worth fairly close to the ending price. I'm no expert at all but I don't think it's a FORGERY per se. I'm just not sure if the seller knows what it really is.

[shirleyfilms]

It's hard to tell from that photo if the inscription reads 1995 or 1993. I am guessing it was a typo in the listing (they also misspelled "Premier").

It should be arriving soon. With luck, I will find another clue when it does.

[l0nepinemall]

That map that comes with it looks an awful lot like a map they have on the wall at Trader Sam's.

[ALIASd]

I'd guess these were created for and given to Disney & Lucas/Paramount crew involved in the creation of the attraction, possibly a "ground-breaking" memorabilia piece based on the weekend dates if it's in fact '93.

[shirleyfilms]

Just heard from the seller:

"This is from a family member who has since passed away, so unfortunately I can't say with 100% certainty where exactly the pottery piece comes from. Any time I asked about it, my uncle said "It's from the movies! It's a piece of history!" hence the ebay sale description, lol. I am ashamed to admit that I've never seen any IJ movies, so I have no idea what the map is of or to. I assumed IJ fans would be able to identify the "artifacts".
At any rate, I believe there only about 50 made. They were given to the crew who produced/attended the Indiana Jones Adventure Ride opening ceremonies and only a select group of movie VIP's. For instance, my uncle was a executive for Disneyland special events and produced the event noted on the plaque as the "premier expedition"."

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

---------- Post added 11-22-2011 at 02:36 PM ----------

That map that comes with it looks an awful lot like a map they have on the wall at Trader Sam's.

I was just thinking about that map. Does anyone have a photo of it? I meant to take one on my last trip... but there was always someone sitting at the table in front of it.

---------- Post added 11-22-2011 at 02:48 PM ----------

Found it:

Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It is the same. Good eye!

[simba]

What concerns me is the fact that the seller has 94% positive feedback (bad by Ebay standards) and only 25 feedback.

But at that small of a feedback number, that's only one negative. If you look at his/her feedback, you can see they are all positive except that one negative.

I'm pretty certain this item is legitimate - in other words it's not something they whipped up to con anyone. I don't think the little artifact is from the films, but it does look rather beat up. It could be artificial, but who knows. If we could see a another one of these we could compare, but being that there might only be 50, that's probably not going to happen.

And zooming in on the date, it looks like 1995 to me.

[l0nepinemall]

Found it:

Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It is the same. Good eye!

Thanks! I just had this feeling it looked familiar!

[QuiGonJ]

The dates look right for an executive preview

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Says it opened March 5th, 1995, so I would doubt your purchase was a fake. Wouldn't be worth the trouble to forge since it only went for a hundred bucks. The framing alone would cost more than that.

[DLFreak71]

The writing on it (the map) looks like what was given on the "decoder cards" that were given shortly after the ride opened.
If you find the card, maybe it will decode what the map says.
I think I still have a decoder card....I think


Edit:
Found the card (Shocked it was still in good condition). Took a photo of the back and front.

[explodingboy]

I doubt that it is fake. I'm sure it was something that was given to X amount of people like he said, and as far as the pottery piece - it's hard to say. There were so many props that it would be nearly impossible to find out exactly where it would have come from.

[shirleyfilms]

Update, for those who are interested.

I finally received this item yesterday.

It came as described. No accompanying data to help identify the piece.

It is quite nice tho. I took a few photos. They are nothing special, but the details are neat... so, in the interest of posterity, I thought I would share. Similar pics might already be out there...on the web... somewhere. If so, here are some more. These pics are the best I could do with my iPhone and without removing it from the glass/frame.

The Jungle Cruise part is pretty cool.

Enjoy!

[ScottG]

Without a Certificate of Authenticity, it's buyer beware!