Beatles, Nirvana, Pink Floyd feature at auction

Legendary musical instruments, handwritten manuscripts and historic sports memorabilia will go under the hammer in March at a major multi-part auction at Christie's in New York.

The sale will feature several hundred objects from the Jim Irsay Collection, regarded as one of the world's most significant private collections of its kind.

Jim Irsay, the US billionaire businessman, philanthropist and long-time owner of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, died last year.

At the centre of the sale are iconic instruments from rock history. Perhaps the top highlight is a 1966 Fender Mustang once owned by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

Cobain played the guitar on the albums Nevermind and In Utero, and it also appears in the music video for Smells Like Teen Spirit, which became an anthem for early 1990s youth culture. Christie's expects bids of up to $US5 million ($A7.4 million).

A black Fender Stratocaster used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, which helped shape the band's signature sound, is expected to fetch up to $US4 million ($A6 million).

Other highlights include a trumpet owned by Miles Davis, a saxophone belonging to John Coltrane and a cape worn by the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown.

A handwritten manuscript of Bob Dylan's song The Times They Are A-Changin' could sell for several hundred thousand dollars.

The bass drum head used by Ringo Starr during the band's landmark 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in the US could fetch around $US2 million ($A3 million).

Also included in the auction are Starr's first Ludwig drum kit, guitars played by John Lennon and George Harrison, a handwritten draft of Hey Jude by Paul McCartney, and the sworn affidavit documenting the Beatles' breakup.

The auction will take place in four segments from March 3 to March 17, both in-person in New York and online.