The 'priceless' statuette from The Maltese Falcon for Auction

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The plot of the 1941 Humphrey Bogart classic The Maltese Falcon revolves around a 12-inch falcon statue which the film's protagonist believes to be a priceless antique - but in the end is revealed to be a lead fake.
So it's ironic that the original film prop, an unremarkable lead falcon statue, is now expected to fetch a seven-figure sum at auction.
The statue, a 50lb falcon complete with dents from when Bogart dropped it on set, has been described by movie experts as one of the most important movie props of all time, up there with Dorothy's ruby slippers or Holly Golightly's little black dress.

Priceless: The worthless fake from the Bogart classic The Maltese Falcon is now expected to fetch $1.5 million at auction in November

Like a hawk: Bogart as Sam Spade contemplates the falcon statue that will be auctioned in November

Cited as the first major film noir production, the film centers around Humphrey Bogart's character Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco competing with three unscrupulous fly-by-nights in a quest to obtain a priceless jewel-encrusted falcon.

 

Spade and the other characters pursuing the statue believe it's been painted black to disguise its true worth, but at the film's climax the falcon is revealed as a fake.

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Catherine Williams, the director of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams auction house told the UK Times, 'This statue is the greatest film prop ever, not only because of its central role in the film but also because of what it symbolized.
'In the last scene of the film, Humphrey Bogart’s character Sam Spade says the statue is ‘the stuff dreams are made of’ - and that summed up cinema at the time.'

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The falcon statue itself is said to be based on the Kniphausen Hawk, a ceremonial pouring vessel made in 1697 for George William von Kniphausen, Count of the Holy Roman Empire. The real vessel is currently owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
Only two falcon props were ever made for the film, which was described by Roger Ebert as one of the greatest films of all time. The one being auctioned has been displayed in various museums but never been part of a private collection.
The other was auctioned off in 1994 for $398,500 to a private collector.
The role that the falcon in the film is an example of a 'MacGuffin', a plot device that motivates the protagonist but has little relevance to the storyline.
As interest in the 50lb lead falcon heats up, a line from the film seems fitting:
'I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son,' says one character to another.
'But, well, if you lose a son, it's possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon.'
Bonhams will auction the statue in New York in November.