Exceptionally fine, one off 2000 “Gibson’s Art Deco Series” Super 400 ‘Sophisticated Lady’ This is the rarest and finest instruments that have been produced by the Gibson Guitar Company. This is a one of a kind and not to be produced again Gibson Art Deco Series Guitars Background All 3 of the Super 400 / Super 5 based Art Deco guitars were the inspiration of Gibson’s now-long-retired top master luthier, Bruce Kunkel, whom Gibson allowed to give it his all in these Art Guitars. Bruce Kunkel only built three of these Super 400 / Super L5 based Art Deco guitars, of which the Sophisticated Lady was the first, and the Jazz Moderne was the second. Immediately proceeding the crafting of the first of the Gibson Art / Art Deco guitars Bruce Kunkel created the “Twentieth Century Tribute”, a Super 400 with social and entertainment event scenes from the last Century hand painted all over the guitar. The first of his Art Deco guitars is Sophisticated Lady, a Champagne colored Super 400 with the back of the guitar hand painted with the Lady and her dogs coming down a grand stairway (though the chandelier in the scene is inlayed abalone, rather than painted). Gibson priced the “Twentieth Century Tribute” at $100,000, though, as you can see from their web pages on these guitars Gibson says that the Twentieth Century Tribute (with two $6,000 Les Pauls – the last one built in 1999 and the first one built in 2000) “commanded offers of up to $600,000”. Gibson didn’t advertise the other Art Deco guitars like they did the “Twentieth Century Tribute”, although they did create the three web pages on the two Art Deco’s. Gibson set a price of $80,000 for each of the Art Deco guitars. Although the Sophisticated Lady and the Jazz Moderne are without question incredible pieces of art, they are even more stunning because they are two of the finest sounding Gibson hollow-body guitars I have EVER heard, regardless of age. This incredible piece of art comes with its original hardshell case.