Photos from Hotlotz
A pen once owned by Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew was sold for S$461,500 at an auction in Singapore.
It was sold for more than nine times its expected sale price, beating expectations by a wide margin.
The silver Montblanc Meisterstuck fountain pen was sold inclusive of buyer’s premium after 111 bids at Hotlotz's "Interiors & Collectibles - August, Fine Art Focus" auction.
Photo from Hotlotz
The pen, which was engraved with “SM Lee Kuan Yew” from his tenure as Senior Minister, was previously sold for S$52,000 at “The Lee Kuan Yew Family Collection” charity auction in July 2003.
Photo from Hotlotz
The sterling silver Meisterstuck No. 146, with gold-tone highlights and an 18K gold nib, carried a pre-sale estimate of S$30,000 to S$50,000.
The South China Morning Post reported that Lee’s late daughter, Lee Wei Ling, spearheaded the Sotheby’s auction in 2003 to raise funds for The Tent, a charity for troubled teenage girls.
A total of 88 items accumulated by Lee and his family were put up for sale.
Those items included a black Waterman’s fountain pen used by Lee to sign the 1957 constitutional agreement with Britain, which was valued at around S$10,000.
It eventually sold for S$350,000 to an anonymous businessman.
The 2003 charity auction raised S$2.04 million.
Painting
Other works at the Hotlotz auction also beat expectations.
Separately, a Chua Mia Tee painting, titled “Singapore Chinatown, Temple Street” (1976), sold for S$107,900 inclusive of buyer's premium from the same sale.
Photo from Hotlotz
This set a new auction record for the Singaporean artist.
The work drew 58 bids.
The painting carried a pre-sale estimate of S$20,000 to S$30,000, with bidding opening at S$18,000.
It surpassed Chua Mia Tee's previous auction record of S$97,600 inclusive of buyer's premium, set on Jan. 14, 2023, for his 2003 work titled “Prosperity”.
Vase
A stoneware pottery vase by Iskandar Jalil, the Singaporean ceramicist and Culture Medallion recipient sold for S$12,350 inclusive of buyer’s premium.
Photo from Hotlotz
The vase drew 25 bids at the same sale.
The price was more than double the high end of its S$2,500 to S$4,000 estimate.
Iskandar was conferred the Distinguished Service Order on Aug. 9.
