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A section of stairs from the Eiffel Tower in Paris has sold Tuesday for nearly 170,000 euros, auctioneers announced, about three times more than the pre-sale estimate.
More than two dozen wrought iron steps of the original spiral structure, located between the second and third floors of the Parisian monument, were sold to a collector in the Middle East for 169,000 euros (190,000 USD) after a war. Auction in the French capital.
The auction house Artcurial initially estimated the sale price between 40,000 and 60,000 euros.
The staircases, measuring 4.3 meters (13 feet) and were part of a Canadian private collection, date from 1889 when the legendary French engineer Gustave Eiffel built the 324-meter building as the centerpiece of the World's Fair. Paris.
It quickly became the most emblematic monument of Paris and is the most visited monument in France, despite calls for its demolition in the years following the exhibition.
It is still the third highest structure in the country. It is the tallest building in the world for 41 years until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.
The stairs were removed from the tower in 1983 to make room for an elevator and cut into 24 sections, ranging from two to nine meters high.
Many have been purchased by museums or have ended up building historical installations in prestigious sites around the world.
Artcurial sold a separate section of the tower – only 14 steps – for 523,800 euros to an Asian buyer in 2016.
© 2018 AFP
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