The piece, a little over a metre high and which had been estimated to fetch between US$600,000 and US$900,000, comes from the collection of Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.

The three-time Oscar winner – including one for “ET” – died in 2012 at the age of 86.

“Rambaldi’s beloved ET model is an extraordinary piece of film history,” Sotheby’s vice chair Cassandra Hatton told AFP.

“While it did not find a buyer during today’s auction, its significance remains undiminished.”

The model offered for sale is one of three used by Spielberg for his 1982 film.

In a statement before the auction, Hatton described the model as embodying “the artistry of an era before CGI (computer-generated imagery) took hold, a nostalgic and iconic piece of Hollywood history as captivating as the stories themselves.”

Sotheby’s said that a separate ET sketch made by Rambaldi had sold on Thursday for over US$53,000, well above its top-end estimate of US$18,000.

In 2022, a metallic automaton representing ET and also used during the shooting of the successful film was sold for US$2.56 million at an auction organised by the American house Julien’s.