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Late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's guitar from the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video will be auctioned between May 20-22 this year.
Smells Like Teen Spirit became the anthem of a generation. It has over 1.4 billion views on YouTube and is the foremost emblem of the 90's grunge revolution, thus making the left-handed 1969 Fender Mustang guitar one of music's most iconic instruments.
Kurt Cobain's signature guitar to be the centerpiece in the Music Icons' auction
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, made the following statement while standing beside a display of Kurt Cobain memorabilia at Julien's Auctions' Beverly Hills showroom:
"This is one of the most iconic guitars ever to come to the auction block, this is the blue Mustang Fender guitar, one of Kurt Cobain's favorite guitars of all time. The guitar comes with its original case and, also, the guitar strap, so that's ... really important to collectors when they come to the auction to know the originality."
The guitar, along with the guitar Kurt played his MTV Unplugged set with, is one of the most remembered instruments when it comes to the singer. The latter was auctioned off in 2020 for over $6 million. The blue fender has stayed with the Cobain family ever since the frontman's tragic demise in 1994.
The guitar is set to be the centerpiece of the auction house's 'Music Icons' auction, which will be held in New York and online from May 20-22.
Nolan further stated:
"We have conservatively estimated a price range for the guitar of $600,000 to $800,000... But that's a very conservative auction estimate."
A part of the sale's proceeds would also go to Kicking The Stigma, a mental health charity, in light of Kurt's troubled life.
The auction also features other items owned by Kurt Cobain, such as an original artwork of Michael Jackson drawn by the singer, that is expected to fetch up to $40,000, a personally drawn Iron Maiden' Killers' skateboard deck artwork, and one of his cars, a 1965 Dodge Dart, that is estimated to fetch between $400,000 to $600,000.
The car, nicknamed 'Baby Blue,' has an interesting distinction of being the only known surviving car that was owned and driven by the famed musician.
Kurt Cobain memoribilia that were auctioned earlier
The enigmatic vocalist has been the subject of exhorbitant yet bizarre auctions in the past. In May 2021, six strands of his long blonde hair were sold for a whopping $14,145 in an auction by Iconic Auctions. According to the auction house, the longest strand is only about 2.5 inches.
The items sold at the current auction will come with their own NFTs, as is the trend. Recently, Julian Lennon auctioned off a number of items owned by his father as NFTs via Julien's Auctions.
It is clear that music connoisseurs and art collectors alike relish the prospect of owning a small slice of history.
