New York (AFP)
The guitar used by Kurt Cobain during the recording of the famous concert "Unplugged" by Nirvana, in 1993, was sold on Saturday, during auctions organized by the house Julien's, for 6 million dollars, a record for a guitar.
The buyer, who was physically present at the sale organized in Beverly Hills (California), is the Australian entrepreneur Peter Freedman, founder of the company Røde Microphones, which designs microphones, said Julien's in a press release.
The head of the company immediately indicated that he intended to present the instrument in several cities around the world, the product of exhibitions going to charities supporting the world of entertainment.
The price, from $ 5 million raised to 6.01 by adding fees and commission, greatly exceeded the initial estimate of the house Julien's, which had set the starting point of the sale at a million.
So far, the most expensive guitar in history has been a Fender Stratocaster, dubbed "Black Strat", used by guitarist British band Pink Floyd, David Gilmour.
It had been sold by the musician for 3.975 million dollars, during a sale organized in June 2019 by Christie's house, for the benefit of charities.
The semi-acoustic guitar of Kurt Cobain sold on Saturday is a rare model, the D-18E manufactured by the American luthier Martin in only 302 copies, this one in 1959.
It complied with the rules of the "Unplugged" program on the American channel MTV, which wanted guest artists to use only acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments.
The concert "Unplugged", recorded in New York on November 18, 1993, corresponds to the peak of Nirvana, the most striking rock group of the 90s, which crystallized around it a musical movement, grunge.
The stage performance took place less than six months before the suicide, on April 5, 1994, of Kurt Cobain, depressed and addicted to heroin.
The guitarist and singer will not have known the publication of "Unplugged", which was to rise to the forefront of record sales when it was released in November 1994.
According to the specialist magazine Billboard, more than five million copies have passed in the United States alone.
The guitar was sold with its case, personalized by Kurt Cobain, as well as three luggage deposit tickets.
At the end of October, the legendary olive green vest worn by Kurt Cobain when recording the same "Unplugged" had been sold for 334,000 dollars, at auctions also organized by Julien's Auctions.
© 2020 AFP