Tehran art auction breaks record in $7.4M night

This year's Tehran Auction broke the record with a total sale of $7.4 million.

Though the number of sold items grew smaller from 126 last year to 79 on Friday, the night turned out 12 percent more valuable than a year ago, Mehr news agency reported May 28.

The most expensive item was a painting by famous artist and poet Sohrab Sepehri, came under the hammer for $873,000.

Last year, three of Sepehri's untitled paintings sold for $875,000. Works by the internationally known sculptor Parviz Tanavoli had a starting price of about $100,000.

Held every year since 2012, Tehran Auction has been raising more and more money. Last year, the auction saw $6.6 million in sales.