A set of dentures made for Britain’s war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as “the teeth that saved the world” sold for nearly £18,000 (NT$900,000 US$28,000) at auction last week.
The false teeth — which were specially designed to preserve Churchill’s natural lisp on morale-boosting radio broadcasts he made during World War II — fetched over three times their pre-sale estimate.
They were snapped up by a private collector from Britain who paid £17,879 including commission, said a spokeswoman for auctioneers Keys of Aylsham in Norfolk, eastern England.
Before the sale, Keys had estimated they would fetch up to £5,000.
The false teeth were being sold on behalf of Nigel Cudlipp, son of the man who made them.
Cudlipp recalled the story of how Churchill used to vent his frustration when the 1939-45 war was not going well by flicking the dentures out of his mouth, in an interview with BBC radio.
“My father recounted many stories of Churchill putting his thumb behind the front of the teeth and just flicking them,” Cudlipp said.
“My father used to say he could tell how well the war effort was going by how far they went across the room and whether they hit the opposite wall.
“Churchill was not a man who was renowned for his patience.”
It is thought that only four sets of the dentures were made. One is believed to have gone to the grave with him, another is in a London museum labelled “the teeth that saved the world” and a third was melted down.(afp)
英國戰時首相溫斯頓•邱吉爾訂製的一副假牙上週進行拍賣。這副被稱為「拯救世界之牙」的假牙，以將近一萬八千英鎊（新台幣九十萬元，兩萬八千美元）的價格成交。
這副假牙以高出預估售價兩倍多的價格成交。天生口齒不清的邱吉爾，二次大戰期間常在廣播中發表振奮人心的演說，特製這副假牙便是為了保留他這項特色。
英國東部諾福克郡「艾爾夏姆之鑰」拍賣公司的女發言人表示，得標者是英國一位私人收藏家，成交價含佣金是一萬七千八百七十九英鎊。
拍賣前，「艾爾夏姆之鑰」預估最高成交價為五千英鎊。
賣方奈吉爾•庫德利普是當年製作這副假牙的技工之子。
庫德利普在接受英國廣播公司廣播網的訪問時，憶及二次大戰（一九三九─一九四五）戰事不順時，沮喪的邱吉爾如何把假牙彈撥出口、發洩情緒的過往。
庫德利普說：「我父親說了很多邱吉爾用拇指彈撥前排牙齒後方的故事。」
「我父親說過，他從假牙在房內彈飛的距離和是否彈及對面牆壁，就能知道戰果的好壞。」
「邱吉爾是個很沒耐性的人。」
一般認為，當時只製作了四副假牙。一副跟著他進了墳墓，一副被標上「拯救世界之牙」放在倫敦某博物館中展出，還有一副則已被熔化。（法新社╱翻譯：林倩如）
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