14 seconds ago 2009-12-09T14:30:03-08:00
PARIS (AFP) – A humble if eye-pleasing umbrella stand once owned by Yves Saint Laurent fetched an amazing 90,000 euros (134,000 dollars) Friday at the close of a sale of the last belongings of the late couturier and his partner Pierre Berge.
"I think we've beaten a world record for an umbrella stand," Christie's auctioneer Lionel Gosset laughed as he brought down the hammer on the green enamelled earthenware stand.
The stand, crammed with a collection of rare walking-sticks, which also sold like hotcakes, stood just inside the door of Saint Laurent's Paris flat, so had its own mystique. "It was the first thing you saw when you walked in," Gosset said.
The magic of the YSL name sent prices flying beyond imagination during the four-day auction, which raised well over the estimated worth of the 1,200 bits and pieces up for grabs, fetching a total 8.99 million euros (13.3 million dollars), including costs.
