Katya Kazakina reports on Bloomberg that a buyer hastened to acquire these Russian vases ahead of the auction:

Two large 19th-century Russian vases sold for $2.7 million today in a private transaction less than a week before they were to be auctioned with a much lower estimate.

“Interest in the Russian Imperial vases has been very strong and has come from around the world,” said Scott Shuford, president of Dallas Auction Gallery, in an e-mailed statement. The auction house, which had assigned an estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million to the pair, arranged the private sale.

 

Czarist Vases Sell Privately for $2.7 Million Ahead of Auction (Bloomberg)