This lot will be sold on Tuesday, 1st December (day 1 of the auction.) Lots 1-463 will be sold on day 1 (lots 464-913 will be sold on day 2). The auction will begin at 2:00 pm GMT. Lots are sold sequentially so there is no preset ending time. A live streaming broadcast of the auction will be available on auction days.

Lyra's (Dakota Blue Richards) practical hero alethiometer from Chris Weitz's fantasy adventure The Golden Compass. The alethiometer is the "golden compass" of the film's title and was thus a key prop, which featured heavily throughout the movie. This spiritual device gave a true answer for any question asked, and was used by Lyra as she travelled north to rescue her best friend Roger (Ben Walker) and other kidnapped children from the Gobblers.

There were numerous designs for the mystical artefact, before the final version was settled upon. In order to construct the compass in a quick time frame, a rapid prototyping machine was used to produce a 3D-printed model. The prop department then created the ornate outer shell with forged brass.

Intricately engraved symbols and numbers decorate the outer shell, and the lid pops open when the device's square-shaped switch is pressed. An image of Prague's Church of Our Lady before Týn - the place where the alethiometer was supposedly invented - adorns the underside of the lid. Housed under a plastic cover, the compass face displays several decorative cog components at its centre, with four hands and a cream-coloured dial featuring 36 symbols expertly hand-painted by enamel artist Keith Seldon. Three of the hands are red, and are controlled via a trio of winding crowns; the fourth, larger hand is black, and moves with the twisting of a circular mechanism located at the base of the alethiometer.

Accompanying the lot is a promotional photograph of Lyra holding the device, autographed by Dakota Blue Richards in black ink. The exterior casing was intentionally distressed for the production, and the photograph exhibits light surface scratches. Dimensions (alethiometer, closed): 10 cm x 8.5 cm x 3.5 cm (4" x 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"); (photo): 25.5 cm x 20.5 cm (10" x 8")

Contains mechanical components; see mechanical components notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000 M