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Email this StoryRussian rarity from Arizona sells for $1.3 million in New York City
Posted - 11/2/2009 at 12:47PM
NEW YORK (AP) - A miniature portrait of Czar Peter the Great in a diamond-encrusted frame has sold for $1.3 million at a New York auction.
The rare Russian treasure was owned for decades by an Arizona family that didn't realize its historic significance.
It was purchased Monday at Sotheby's by an anonymous telephone bidder. The price was 10 times its presale estimate.
The estate of the original owner, George Roberts, learned of its importance during an appraisal over the summer. Roberts purchased it in 1951 from a London dealer.
Experts believe as few as 10 of the miniatures were bestowed by the czar on his subjects for their exceptional service to him.
Until the latest discovery, only five were known to exist, three in museum collections.
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