The Local
A section of stairs from the Eiffel Tower in Paris sold for almost €170,000 on Tuesday, auctioneers announced, around three times the pre-sale estimate.
More than two dozen wrought-iron steps from the original spiral structure, from between the second and third floors of the Paris landmark, were sold to a Middle East collector for €169,000 ($190,000) after a bidding-war in the French capital.Auction house Artcurial originally estimated the sale price to be between €40,000 and 60,000.
The stairs, which stand 4.3 metres high (13 foot) and were part of a private Canadian collection, date from 1889 when the legendary French engineer Gustave Eiffel built the 324-metre edifice as the centrepiece of the Paris Universal Exhibition.