Rare 17th Century Sri Lankan pipe case fetches record price in London auction

London, Sept 24 (ANI): An intricately carved Sri Lankan pipe case from the 17th Century, one of only four still believed to be in existence, has reportedly been sold at an auction in London.

According to the BBC, the Sinhalese ivory double-pipe case was sold for 51,650 pounds (80,300 dollars), far higher than its estimate of 8,000-£12,000 pounds (12,400 dollars-18, 600 dollars).

However, the Briton who purchased it wanted to stay anonymous, a spokeswoman from Christie's said.

The case was part of a collection of unusual smoking pipes to be sold by the auction house.

One is reportedly in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London while two further examples are in the De Moriaan Museum in the Netherlands.

The 21in (53cm) long ancient pipe case is described by Christie's as having a "hinged end surmounted by a lion", with a hasp and hinge in engraved brass.

The Sri Lankan case came from a collection put together by Trevor Barton, who collected pipes for 50 years until his death in 2008. (ANI)