The Ark From Raiders of the Lost Ark Just Showed Up on Antiques Roadshow

For any memorabilia collector looking to mimic Indiana Jones’ search for the Ark of the Covenant in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, they’re largely out of luck. The screen-used ark in the movie, which was said to contain the Ten Commandments and was pursued by both Indy and Nazis in the film, is safe and sound in storage at Skywalker Ranch.

But someone has a prototype, and it just showed up on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

A segment filmed at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California, saw a man arrive with what he claims is an early version of the ark prop that was brought home by his father, a pyrotechnician who worked at Industrial Light and Magic, the George Lucas company that did the effects for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The prop, which was made primarily of glued-together picture frames, was used to house the family blankets rather than any religious iconography.

Appraiser James Supp believes the prototype could sell for anywhere between $80,000 to $120,000, though he didn’t rule out a sale price of $250,000 at auction.

Indiana Jones collectors have previously spared little expense in chasing memorabilia from the franchise. One of the many fedoras worn by Harrison Ford sold for $425,000 in 2018. A whip used by Ford in the first three films sold for $35,000 in 1999.

Ford, 77, is still involved in a fifth Indiana Jones film set for release in 2021, though Steven Spielberg is no longer directing it. Ford vs. Ferrari director James Mangold is reportedly in discussions to take his place.