'Rare' item from Trump's penthouse sells at auction

A 24-carat gold section of glass ceiling that once hung above Donald Trump in his New York City penthouse has sold at auction.

The fragment of the bevelled mirror ceiling, described as "unusual and rare" by Dominic Winter Auctioneers, based in the Cotswolds, was commissioned by the now US president for his property at Trump Tower in 1987.

Featuring a leaf pattern, it is believed to be one of only three pieces left from the original commission, which comprised of more than 800ft (243m) of 6in (15cm) wide mirror coffers.

Estimated to fetch between £300-500, the fragment was bought by a private collector in Germany for £380 at the auction house in South Cerney, Gloucestershire, on Wednesday.

A specialist glass studio in California produced the mirrored ceiling that the fragment - measuring 77 x 15cm (30 x 6in) - came from.

The 15cm-wide mirror coffers were produced by the studio for the original project, with more than 12,000 individually cut leaves incorporated into the ceiling over an eight-month period.

A team of specialist polishers worked on the pieces before the gilding was applied.

Trump's penthouse apartment had originally been designed in a more contemporary style, the auctioneers said, but its interiors were "subsequently radically redesigned" in the late 1980s to reflect the president's take on European royal grandeur.

Chris Albury, director at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, previously described the mirror fragment as "an extraordinary survivor from a hugely ambitious decorative project".

He said the "fact that this particular piece was retained as a memento by one of the British craftsmen who worked on the project gives it an especially fascinating provenance".

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