A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, EKO 500

Details

EKO MUSIC GROUP, RECANATI, ITALY, CIRCA 1968
A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, EKO 500
The logo EKO applied to the pickguard, stamped MADE IN ITALY on the back of the headstock, the top of the body covered in a red sparkle plastic laminate and the back in a cream pearloid laminate, together with an original hard-shell case
Length of body 16 ¹⁵/₁₆ in. (43 cm.)
EKO

Sale room notice

Mark Knopfler plans to donate no less than 25% of the total hammer price received, to be split equally between The British Red Cross Society (a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 220949, Scotland with charity number SC037738, Isle of Man with charity number 0752, and Jersey with charity number 430), Brave Hearts of the North East (a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 1006247) and the Tusk Trust Limited (a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 1186533).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

awalker@christies.com +44 20 7389 2085

Lot Essay

Gifted to Mark Knopfler by bassist Glenn Worf not long after the band had concluded recording for Knopfler’s fourth solo studio album Shangri-La in March 2004, this Eko 500 was kept for home use. Mark had acquired an ivory Eko 500 during the sessions at Shangri-La Studios, so no doubt Worf anticipated that the red sparkle would make a fine pair. Speaking to Guitarist magazine in 2021, Knopfler proclaimed 'Loving guitars means you’ve got to love the cheap ones as well.' Elaborating on this all-encompassing passion for the instruments, Knopfler told us: 'It’s not just about the Gibsons and Fenders, but you get this whole thing about Burns guitars, about Eko guitars. These are magic words to me. It’s like a Lord’s Prayer. These are some of the finest words in the English language.' See footnotes to lots 50 and 51.

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