Guitars, pianos, masks, garments and fake teeth were among the ridiculously-rare items available at the Idols & Icons: Rock and Roll Auction by Julien’s Auctions in LA last weekend. The teeth were (casually) the fangs worn by Michael Jackson in Thriller. The instruments were among those used by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Elvis Presley and Nancy Wilson. The mask was from Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video. And the garments included Madonna’s standout suit in Evita and, most notably, Kurt Cobain’s iconic cardigan worn in the 1993 MTV Unplugged performance that won to a bid of $137,500.
The green, mohair cardigan is quintessential Kurt — a slightly discolored thrift store purchase that defined the grunge look. The Grammy-winning Unplugged performance is renowned as one of Nirvana’s best and was one of their final shows before Cobain’s tragic suicide in 1994. Other major bids included a whopping $2.41 million for John Lennon’s acoustic Gibson J-160E guitar, three times the estimated bid.
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Text Sasha Geyer