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A pair of articulated "Bruce" shark eyes from Steven Spielberg's Jaws previously owned by legendary Hollywood shark fabricator Robert Mattey. The beach town of Amity Island was plagued by an aggressive and unusually large great white shark. After several attacks, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) and oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) teamed up with eccentric shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) to take down the shark. During the night, Quint relayed his experiences with sharks after he survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II.

To engineer the deadly creature's lifelike movements, Academy Award®-nominated effects artist Robert Mattey was brought on as the production's head of mechanical effects. Mattey had previously served as a Walt Disney Imagineer during the era of Disneyland's founding, and was the first head of its Mechanical Effects Department. Among Mattey's most famous animatronic creations were characters from Disneyland's Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attractions, earning him a personalized dedication window in the park's Main Street.

Three full-size pneumatically-powered animatronic sharks (nicknamed "Bruce" for Spielberg's lawyer) with articulated eyes - each hand-finished and adjusted for specific angles and lighting cameras - were made for production. For the shark's menacing, unblinking stare, Mattey developed custom resin eyes with a translucent depth designed to give the creature the cold, predatory "lifeless-ness" that Quint spoke of onscreen. As hydraulic pistons were unusable due to concerns around oil leaking into the water, pneumatic pistons were created to push the eyeballs back and forth.

More than solely mechanical components, the eyes became a vital part of the shark's personality, enhancing the realism and psychological impact of one of cinema's most suspenseful thrillers. This pair of eyes photo-matches to a vintage 1975 newspaper article of Mattey holding them. Additionally, behind-the-scenes stills from the production show the shark's green metal framework, the same color as the framework of these eyes.

Related to Quint's story of shark eyes describing how they rolled back to see the whites, the mechanism used for the animatronic sharks mimicked the movement when the armature moved forward. A large gauge wire was attached to the back of the eyes and the arm joint attached to the frame to keep the eyes from rolling back too far, a result of Spielberg not liking the initial range of motion for the eyes. Without the wire, the forward motion would roll the eyes back to reveal their fully white backs. In some stills from the production, white edges around the black pupils are still visible.

In 1974, while the shark was still in development, Mattey invited a neighbor into his garage to witness firsthand as the creature took shape. Years later, in 1980, Mattey gifted the eyes - along with a set of fins - to that same neighbor, entrusting him with key elements from one of cinema's most enduring mechanical creations.

In addition to these eyes, the lot includes a pair of metal armatures and a newspaper article about shark's creator attached to a sheet of cardboard. One eye has become detached from the mechanism. The eyes exhibit a buildup of rust on the metal, chipped paint, and discoloration.

Among the most acclaimed films in the history of cinema, Jaws received four Academy Award® nominations upon release, including Best Picture, and is widely credited as the first-ever summer blockbuster. Both a family drama informed by Spielberg's own personal life and a suspense thriller par excellence, its central character has forever changed humanity's relationship to Great White sharks. In 2025, Jaws celebrated its 50th anniversary with a record-breaking theatrical re-release and exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, including the installation of a full-size "Bruce."

Today, artifacts from the production of Jaws - and in particular those directly linked to Mattey's shark work - are exceedingly rare and highly controversial amongst collectors. These eyes are some of the few pieces of the original "Bruce" still in existence, and among the best pieces from the film ever handled by Propstore. They represent a tangible piece of the practical effects legacy behind one of the most groundbreaking films in the history of cinema. Dimensions: (each) 25" x 12" x 6.25" (63.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 16 cm)

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

Estimate: $50,000 - 100,000



View all lots from JAWS (1975)