Hong Kong hotel executive Hoffman Ma is now the proud owner of the shimmering white glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983.The final price at the New York auction - with commission but excluding taxes - ran to US$420,000 (HK$3.28 million). "It was a bargain - we were expecting to pay more," said Ma, deputy chairman of Success Universe Group, parent company of Macau's Ponte 16 Resort Hotel where the glove will be displayed.
Jackson wore the modified golf glove in 1983 at his Billie Jean performance at the Motown 25 television special where he performed his signature moonwalk dance for the first time.
The glove is made of cream leather with hand-sewn rhinestones. It will be put on display, along with nine other pieces of MJ memorabilia, in a gallery at Ponte 16.
Darren Julien, CEO of Julien's Auctions which ran the auction, called the glove "the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson." Many expected it to sell for far more than its pre-sale estimate of about US$50,000.
The "King of Pop," who died aged 50 on June 25, gave the glove to Walter "Clyde" Orange, of the group The Commodores.
Jackson fan Ma, 36, flew to the Big Apple determined to bring home the glove. His team has been buying up Jackson memorabilia from around the world bothin person and via online auctions.
It successfully bid for nine other items, including the zombie shirt Jackson wore in Thriller and a signed platinum record awarded for Bad.
The glove was the t
op item in the estate auction at The Hard Rock Cafe Times Square.Ponte 16 will open an MJ gallery to exhibit these items with the aim of making it a focal point in Asia for Jackson fans.
"MJ's distinctive musical sound, vocal style and choreography inspired numerous pop, rock, R&B and hip hop artists," Ma said.
"He also had a great influence on charity, as well as environmental preservation from different generations all over the world.
"We aim to create a rendezvous to remember this great performer of the 20th century."
A jacket that Jackson wore on his 1989 Bad tour fetched US$225,000 - 20 times its low estimate of US$8,000 - while a fedora he wore for his moonwalk sold for US$22,000 compared with the pre-auction estimate of US$2,000.
