Lee Kuan Yew’s Montblanc fountain pen sells for $461,500 at auction

SINGAPORE – A silver Montblanc fountain pen once owned by founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew sold for $461,500 on Aug 16, after drawing 111 bids globally at Singapore auction house Hotlotz.

The pen, with the custom engraving “SM Lee Kuan Yew”, was put up for online auction on Aug 4 and surpassed Hotlotz’s pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000 by nearly 10 times when bidding closed.

The pen traces its lineage to his years as senior minister, from 1990 to 2004. It is from a later chapter of his statecraft after his 31-year tenure as prime minister.

The sterling silver Montblanc Meisterstuck No. 146, with gold-tone highlights and an 18K gold nib, was originally sold for $52,000 at “The Lee Kuan Yew Family Collection” auction by Sotheby’s in July 2003.

At that landmark event that raised $2.04 million for charity, a black Waterman fountain pen used by Lee to sign the 1957 Singapore Constitutional Agreement in London sold for $350,000 to an anonymous businessman. The agreement laid the groundwork for self-government.

Lee’s pen headlined Hotlotz’s sale, called Interiors & Collectibles – August, Fine Art Focus, where local masterpieces also established new benchmarks.

A Chua Mia Tee painting – Singapore Chinatown, Temple Street (1976) – sold for a new high of $107,900, after drawing 58 bids. The painting by the pioneer artist, a master of social realism, carried a pre-sale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

The hammer price surpassed the late artist’s previous auction record of $97,600, set on Jan 14, 2023, for his Prosperity (2023). He died on July 10 at the age of 94.

A stoneware vase by master potter Iskandar Jalil sold for $12,350, drawing 25 bids. The veteran ceramicist has just been conferred the Distinguished Service Order during the National Day Awards on Aug 9.