Auctions: Darth Vader helmets offered at Philadelphia auction

Surely, Darth Vader is one of the most memorable movie images of the late 20th century. The Jedi Knight who turned on his fellow champions of the Force to join the Dark Side and thus set in motion Star Wars evokes the image of Lucifer in Paradise Lost.

Like the fallen angel of Milton's epic, Vader, a tortured soul who wears a helmet and mask and speaks with an amplified voice, is as much a tragic figure as an evil one, defeated at last by his own son, Luke Skywalker.

So it should come as no surprise that someone should dream up the idea for a Vader Project, allowing 100 of the best underground artists and designers working today to be given a scale Darth Vader helmet to customize as they saw fit.

Nor was it a surprise that, when it came time to sell the "reimagined" helmets, the assignment went to Freeman's pop culture department. The 100 helmets, ranging from a pink helmet titled Darth Vader Is Gay to a playful one called The Dork Side, will go on the block at noon July 10 at the gallery, 1808 Chestnut St.

The Vader Project was conceived in 2005 by Dov Kelemer, who operates Dov Kelemer Enterprises, a vinyl and specialty toy-distribution company that offers Star Wars figures, with his wife, Sarah Jo Marks. It was completed in 2007.

"The result is astounding," said Simeon Lipman, Freeman's pop-culture specialist. "The sale will give members of the public the chance to purchase unique artworks made from these iconic symbols of the movie industry."

In a 2008 interview in Format magazine, Kelemer noted that many entries by artists, generally in their 30s and 40s, had antiwar themes.

Alex Pardee's helmet, which looks like a death's head, is titled K.I.A. (Killed in Action); Troy Alder's Peace Vader features rainbow colors; and Mitch O'Connell uses a flower-power motif in Make Love, Not War.

BXH Hikaru's The Bounty Hunter is a black helmet with the stylized white initials "BH" and has a pro-military theme. And Eelus recalls Vietnam with Full Metal Vader.

Other entries are more playful. Andrew Bell depicts Vader with a bad overbite in his Darthodontics; the group Girls Drawn Girls turned the helmet into a cluster of fruit in Carmen Mirandarth; and Mad Barbarians colors the helmet bright yellow for Darth Banana.

Several helmets offer Star Wars references. Playskewl's Scarred Mind suggests the injured man inside Vader's armor; Dave Pressler's This is not what I had in mind takes its title from a line of dialogue. And Yoko D'Holbachie's Join the Happy Side refers to Vader's decision to do otherwise.

Almost all of the helmets have presale estimates of $3,000 to $5,000, according to the online catalog at www.freemansauction.com. A few are expected to bring more, include Mister Cartoon's Darth Fader ($15,000 to $20,000); Robbie Conal's A Disturbance in the Force ($8,000 to $10,000); and, in what might be a Star Wars sequel set even further into the future, Frank Kozik's Rust Vader ($10,000 to $15,000).

The Vader Project has been displayed at various Star Wars conventions and museums around the world. It went to Europe in July 2007, Japan in 2008, and last year was viewed at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, according to a news release about the sale. Pre-auction exhibitions already have taken place in Los Angeles and at Freeman's United Kingdom ally, Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The exhibition will take place here from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 5 through July 9.

Freeman's notes that the auction is not sponsored or endorsed by Lucasfilm, the producers of Star Wars, and has no relationship with that group. For further information, call 215-563-9275.

Quality Sale at Slosberg. Barry S. Slosberg Inc. will conduct its last two-day quality sale Sunday and Monday at its gallery, 2501 E. Ontario St.

Sunday's session, beginning at 10 a.m., will feature items from China and Japan, including Mandarin porcelains, Japanese woodblock prints and paintings, Chinese rosewood and teakwood furnishings, continental and American paintings, and 19th- and 20th-century American and continental furniture. The session also will offer decorative items, including a 1940s Neon Products Inc. neon clock and outdoor hanging drugstore display sign and an art deco wrought-iron door grate.

Monday's session, beginning at 4 p.m., will feature American and continental porcelains, including Lladro, Royal Doulton, Royal Copenhagen, and Hummel figures; art glass; bronzes; estate silver; and jewelry.