A collection of Bruce Lee artefacts and papers is predicted to raise record-setting prices for the actor and martial artist in a first Hong Kong sale by one of the US’s major auction houses.
The Legends in Motion sale on September 28 is the first sale in the Chinese territory by Julien’s Auctions, who most recently hit the headlines when they sold a John Lennon acoustic guitar for $2.9 million.
Bruce Lee may be the most famous Hong Konger (though he was born and spent the first few months of his life in the USA) in history and a high quality list of personal items should attract buyers with money.
The top Lee item is a pair of chops. These are signature stamps with Lee’s name in Chinese pictograms and the seal of Jun Fun Jeet June Do, an organisation that protected and promoted his work.
They were hand-made for Lee some time between 1963 and 1965 in onyx. A stamp from one of these was the equivalent of Lee’s personal promise and their mark can be found on contracts, letters, certificates and personal notes, including to some of his Hollywood star martial arts pupils.
A poster for Enter the Dragon captures the appeal of Lee across cultures.
Selling in their original presentation box and looking extremely fine, the chops carry a pre-sale estimate of $80,000 to $100,000.
Fans of Lee’s ground-breaking and still popular films can own Nunchaku used in Enter the Dragon or Fist of Fury for $30,000 to $50,000 or $20,000 to $30,000, respectively. Combat gloves from Enter the Dragon carry a $30,000 top estimate.
You could wear Lee’s on-screen Enter the Dragon trunks for $15,000 to $20,000, or a kung fu dress jacket worn during the production of the same film for $10,000 to $20,000.
Combat choreography drawings from Enter the Dragon can be yours for as little as $7,000.
Bruce Lee is surely the most influential martial artist of all time. He is also one of the first Chinese stars to achieve global recognition – largely without compromising.
He is already a collectible star, but if the items in this sale hit their estimates then they will set new records.
Thus far, the most valuable Lee item is the legendary jump suit he wore in Game of Death that realised $84,000 in 2013.
There are sure to be well-heeled fans of Lee who will challenge that record for the right to own weapons wielded by the global martial arts icon.
The full sale, which also includes Michael Jackson costumes for $100,000 – $200,000, represents an interesting test in the globalisation of the collectibles market and the strength of sentiment in the Chinese market.
