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London auction sets record for Russian art sales


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A sale of Russian art in London set a new record for the amount spent on such works in a year, auction house Sotheby's said Wednesday.

The sale Tuesday made more than 20 million pounds (29 million euros, 39 million dollars), taking the figure generated by auctions of Russian art so far in 2006 to 80 million pounds, compared to 56 million pounds last year -- itself a record.

Experts have reported booming interest in the field in recent years.

The explosion comes as wealthy Russians such as Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, who lives in London, move abroad and spend their fortunes.

"More than half of the lots which we sold fetched in excess of their pre-sale estimate, which is an extremely encouraging indication of the continuing strength of this market," said Jo Vickery, head of Sotheby's Russian department.

The sale attracted more than 230 international buyers and broke a total of 10 auction records.

Among the sale's highlights was a pair of porcelain vases from 1830 given by tsar Nicholas I to the French ambassador to Russia at the time, Casimir de Rochechouart, duke of Montemart.

The vases sold for 2.2 million pounds following a bidding war involving three potential buyers. They carried an estimate of 1.8 million pounds.

A gold, diamond and guilloche snuff box sold for 926,400 pounds, part of a collection of 90 rare Faberge objects which made more than 3.4 million pounds.

The sale came as part of a busy week for Russian art sales at London's auction houses, during which further records are expected to fall because of extraordinary levels of interest.

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AFPEntertainment-art-Britain-Russia-auction

AFP 291205 GMT 11 06

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