Kurt Cobain’s cardigan worn on MTV Unplugged sells for record £260,000

'Unwashed' item is most expensive sweater ever sold at auction

(David Willems Photography/PA Wire/YouTube/Nirvana)

The cardigan worn by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana‘s 1993 performance on MTV Unplugged has sold for a record price at auction.

The olive green garment fetched $334,000 (£260,388) during a two-day sale of rock memorabilia run by Julien’s Auctions at Hard Rock Cafe in New York.

The Manhattan brand acrylic, mohair and Lycra cardigan, which has reportedly never been washed, was described by the auction house as “one of the most famous sweaters in music history”.

It had been predicted to sell for between $200,000 (£163,000) and $300,000 (£245,000.)

The cardigan's sale price makes it the most expensive sweater to go under the hammer.

Other items sold at the auction included Cobain’s custom Fender guitar, which the late musician played during Nirvana’s 1993 In Utero tour.

The turquoise-bodied, left-handed guitar, which had been on display for several years at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, sold for $340,000 (£265,066).

The guitar came accompanied by a letter written by Courtney Love, who married the Nirvana frontman in 1992, stating it was one of Cobain's favourite instruments.

The auction featured more than 700 items owned and used by musicians including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Jimi Hendrix.

Kurt Cobain’s cardigan from Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged performance on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City (Getty Images) (Getty)

Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance was filmed in New York City in November 1993.

The recording aired a year later, seven months after Cobain’s death at the age of 27, and was also released as an album.

The cardigan the musician wore during the performance is a size medium and was described on the Julien’s Auctions as featuring “a burn hole and discolouration near left pocket and discolouration on right pocket”.

To read The Independent's ranking Nirvana's 10 greatest songs, from “In Bloom” to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, click here.