The guitar Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain played at the taping of MTV Unplugged in 1993 sold on Saturday for a whopping $6 million (all figures U.S.).
Julien’s Auctions said Peter Freedman, founder of RØDE Microphones, was the successful bidder.
“When I heard that this iconic guitar was up for auction I immediately knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure it and use it as a vehicle to spotlight the struggles that those in the performing arts are facing and have always faced,” said Freedman, in a release.
Freedman said he will exhibit Cobain’s guitar around the world and donate proceeds to performing arts causes.
Cobain played one of only 302 1959 Martin D-18E guitars for the show, which was taped less than five months before his death by suicide. The performance was also released as an album, MTV Unplugged In New York.
The guitar was owned by Frances Bean Cobain, the Nirvana singer’s daughter with Courtney Love. When she split from husband Isaiah Silva in 2016, he claimed she had gifted him the instrument. In 2018, a judge let Silva keep the guitar as part of the couple’s divorce settlement.
Last year, the cardigan Cobain wore during the show sold for $334,000 U.S. at auction.