The Luba figural bowstand made c.1880 by the Warua Master that sold for £5.4m at Christie’s.
Offered in the Exceptional sale at Christie's on July 9, the privately consigned Congolese work sold for more than double its estimate at £5.4m, setting a new record for a Luba figure at auction.
The victorious bidder, who remains anonymous, battled it out against another phone via Christie's UK deputy chairman Robert Copley.
Just eight works are known firmly attributed to the Warua Master, who appears to have worked exclusively for Luba royalty.
The previous high for a Luba figure was set in May when Sotheby's sold the only known male statue by the Warua Master for $3m (£2m).
