A set of nunchaku used by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon realised $190,500 against an estimated price of $30,000 to $50,000 at auction in Hong Kong last week, a probable record for items related to the star.
The weapons were the top Lee item from a large collection of objects used or created by the martial arts pioneer sold in Hong Kong.
This pair of nunchaku were designed by the actor. Made of wood, resin-treated leather and foam they were made to function in the extremely high heats on set during filming on Enter the Dragon. Lee ends one of the most famous sequences in the film sitting calmly in lotus position with the nunchaku round his neck fresh from vanquishing caves full of evil henchmen.
The film was Lee’s greatest achievement, but it came too late for him, premiering 6 days after his death at the age of just 32.
A poster from the Hong Kong release of Enter the Dragon, which was sold for $6,500 last week.
It was hugely influential and has gone on to bring in over $2 billion since its release.
The Hong Kong sale on September 28 was hosted by Julien*s auctions.
Another pair of Lee nunchakus (used in the 1971 film Fist of Fury) were sold for $169,000; Lee’s chops (a stamp for signing documents in Chinese characters) made $91,000; and a pair of fighting gloves from Enter the Dragon sold for $70,000.
The Enter the Dragon nunchaku were for a time in the World of Bruce Lee Museum in Hollywood and came with multiple documents authenticating them and linking them to Lee.
Bruce Lee is highly collectible, and the most valuable sales of items related to the star (who was born in America before growing up in Hong Kong and returning to America as a teenager) have taken place in East Asia.
In 2013 the iconic yellow jump suit was sold for $100,000 at Spink Asia, just a few years after realising $40,000 in the US.
This sale has put several items over that mark. The first by Julien*s – one of the major popular culture auction houses – in East Asia, it is a measure of the continuing buying power in that part of the world.
