The Yves Saint Laurent–Pierre Bergé Sale

Chinese bronze animal heads
The auction acquired a political twist when the Chinese government tried to stop the sale of two precious bronze animal heads that Saint Laurent had bought several years ago through a Paris dealer, which Beijing says were illegally pilfered from China. Just before the auction began, a French court ruled that Bergé did not have to return them. The ended up selling for $39.4 million well over their estimate.

• Yves Saint Laurent's Art Auction
• Saint Laurent Art Sets Records