Sotheby’s sale of the Romanov jewelry and works of art is doing very well. This cigarette case was estimated at £50k but just sold for £253,250. It’s hardly the only one to light up bidders. Several of the other cigarette cases have sold for prices around £90k.

Final tally for the sale is £7.07m with every lot sold, all but one making prices above the estimates. The sale total is seven times the pre-sale estimate. With the evidence of the evening picture sale, it should be clear that Russian buyers, like their Chinese counterparts, are entranced by their Imperial history and want to own a piece of it at any price.

Sotheby’s Results