13th century Koran sets two world auction records

LONDON (Reuters) - A 13th century Koran was sold for 1.14 million pounds ($2.33 million) on Tuesday, setting two world auction records, auctioneers Christie's said.

The Koran fetched more than four times its pre-sale estimate of 250,000 pounds.

"The earliest complete, dated Koran written in gold, written in 1203 AD, set a new world auction record for a Koran and also a world auction record for any Islamic manuscript," Christie's director of Islamic art, William Robinson, said in a statement.

"Today's extraordinary sale total is one of the highest ever for Islamic art at Christie's, reflecting the depth of demand and very strong prices realised throughout the field of classical Islamic art," he said.