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Adam Savage’s Tested
Adam Savage Meets Indiana Jones' Original Golden Idol!
⏱ 16 min video · 2 min read21 May 2026Worth watching
TL;DR
Adam Savage visits collector Dan Lanigan's private Indiana Jones memorabilia collection in Chicago, examining screen-used props including the original Golden Idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, the Holy Grail, Sankara Stones, and a Temple of Doom whip. The conversation covers provenance, manufacturing techniques, and the obsessive research behind identifying and acquiring genuine screen-used pieces.
Key points
1
The original Golden Idol was tracked down in Hawaii by Brandon Allinger, who placed a newspaper ad seeking props from Raiders of the Lost Ark; it retains its green resin base after the sputter-coat gold plating wore off, and is one of the few versions with real baby doll eyes inserted.
2
Two distinct versions of the headpiece of the Staff of Ra existed on set: an earlier 'Raven Bar' version used for most filming, and a later, more detailed sculpt made specifically for close-up insert shots — the existence of two versions was only recently confirmed publicly.
3
The Holy Grail cup screen-matches to the scene where Indiana Jones drinks from it; it is an English church sacrament vessel that was rented by production, cast, and then returned — Lanigan later tracked it down at auction.
4
Adam Savage details the sputter-coating process — metal is melted in a vacuum to deposit an angstrom-thin metallic layer — explaining why C-3PO costumes and similarly coated props degrade as plasticizers leech out of the resin and push the coating off.
5
Lanigan recounts identifying the screen-matching Sankara stone from Temple of Doom in a Profiles in History auction catalog where it was not even described as a match, making it the only known matching stone outside of Lucasfilm.
Key takeaways
→
Sputter-coating (vacuum deposition) produces only an angstrom-thin metallic layer, making it extremely fragile on resin props — plasticizers leeching from aged resin physically push the coating off over time.
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Placing targeted local newspaper ads in filming locations (as Brandon Allinger did in Hawaii) is a legitimate and effective strategy for surfacing unknown screen-used props held by crew or locals.
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Deep specialist knowledge allows collectors to identify screen-matching props that auction houses themselves have not recognized, creating acquisition opportunities invisible to the general public.
Notable quotes
“In order to get an 8 foot whip out of a hide of kangaroo leather, which is never longer than about 38 inches, you cut it in a circle.”
“Marking the whip for cutting took me seven hours. The cutting and braiding was less than that.”
“I was cracking this whip like a rifle shot in front of like $20 million of models thinking, AND HE'S LIKE, CRACK IT AGAIN.”
Worth watching?
✅
Worth watching the full video?
Watch if you want to see the actual props up close and hear Adam Savage explain the manufacturing science behind them — the key provenance details and technical explanations are all captured here, but the visual of holding the real Golden Idol is genuinely compelling.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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