Bruce Lee's Yellow Jumpsuit, Nunchucks to be Sold

Late kung-fu star Bruce Lee's iconic yellow jumpsuit and nunchucks are a couple of 14 personal items that will go under the hammer at an auction in Hong Kong on Thursday (December 4), 40 years after his death.

The jumpsuit was one of the two that Lee wore while filming his last movie, the Game of Death, before his untimely demise at the age of 32 in 1973.

Lee designed the one-piece tracksuit himself. The flexible, handmade costume was meant to reflect his martial arts Jeet Kune Do's malleable nature - that it is not fixed to any traditional martial arts philosophy.

Anna Lee, vice chairperson of collectables auction house Spink China and no relation to Bruce Lee, said the jumpsuit is expected to fetch from HK$250,000 to HK$300,000 (US$32,000 to US$39,000) due to its rarity.

"We've been told that two (yellow jumpsuits) were made for Bruce (Lee) and two others were made for stuntmen. And this being one of the two that were worn physically by him. And I do believe this is the least worn because of the condition, it's still pretty good. The last fight he had with the Hapkido expert from Korea, it was documented that the zipper was broken, I believe that was the last time that was ever worn by him. On the collar it is stated Golden Harvest Film City, property of Golden Harvest," Lee said on Monday (December 2)'s media preview.

A few other items featured in the auction showed the late kungfu master's artistic flair.

One of them was a pendant that Lee designed just months before his death. It featured a dragon in white gold and another in yellow gold perched above a piece of jade, facing each other.

Another was a drawing of a Chinese master monk that is believed to be a conceptual character for "The Green Bamboo Warrior", a movie that was never made because of his premature death.

These items helped shed light on the actor's personality, said Anna Lee.

"He enjoys painting, he enjoys writing letters or whatever, so basically he's just a person who is very emotional in a way. He is just a good man at heart, I think," Lee said.

A Bruce Lee collector, Stanley Zau, said he would come to Thursday's (December 5) auction and came to take a look at the items for sale on Monday (December 2)

Zau already owns a claw prop used by Lee's nemesis in the movie Enter the Dragon and nunchuks that Lee used for regular practice.

He said the items at this auction reflected Lee's philosophy.

"I think it tells you that the man is capable of turning something rather simple into something very elegant. The bell really rings with a lot of people."

Thursday's auction is expected to fetch a total of HK$1 million to HK$1.5 million (US$129,000 to US$193,000).

A number of Bruce Lee-themed events took place in Hong Kong this year to coincide with the 40th anniversary of his death.

Earlier in July, Hong Kong opened a five-year exhibition that displays over 600 items, many of which are on loan from the Bruce Lee Foundation run by his daughter Shannon Lee.

Fans also marked the anniversary with art exhibitions, gallery shows and a memorial trail that marked six spots relevant to Lee's life across the former British colony.