NEW YORK — Outfits and instruments by late pop icon Prince, who was known for his distinct and unique style, will go under the hammer in New York next month.

Julien’s Auctions said on Wednesday it was putting more than 150 items from the late superstar up for sale on May 18, ranging from early childhood photos to golden record trophies to some of his most eye-grabbing attire.

Highlights include a custom-made yellow "Cloud" guitar, so named for its unique twisting body, which also has Prince’s signature love symbols engraved between the frets.

The auction house estimated the guitar would fetch between US$60,000 and $80,000. Last year, it sold another Cloud guitar for a surprisingly hefty $700,000.

The Cloud guitars were made for Prince by Minneapolis luthier Dave Rusan, with one appearing prominently in the 1984 film Purple Rain where Prince’s alter ego "The Kid" receives one as a gift from his girlfriend Apollonia.

Another key item on sale next month is an electric blue turtleneck with matching trousers which Prince -- whose best-known hits included 1999 – wore at his turn-of-the-millennium New Year’s Eve party at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.

The auction house said that it expected the outfit, which Prince also wore when jamming with Lenny Kravitz at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1999, would go for $50,000 to $70,000.

The suit, like many of the items, were listed as coming from Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia, a dancer and mother of Prince’s only known child – who died shortly after birth in 1996 due to a rare disorder.

Many of the items including stereo equipment came out of Paisley Park, the reclusive star’s studio and headquarters that has since been opened for paid tours.

Prince died in April 2016 at Paisley Park from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers. He was 57.

Prosecutors are expected to announce Thursday whether they will press any charges over the death of Prince, who had been treating pain from hip surgery. — AFP