Last week in London, Christie's sold Italian sculptor Marino Marini's equestrian bronze "Cavaliere" for 4.5 million pounds ($7.1 million), about three times the estimate and a world record auction price for the artist.

The lot led a series of contemporary art and Italian art sales at Christie's and Sotheby's, concurrent with the Frieze Art Fair, which were strong, reports Reuters.

Sotheby's tallied $40.1 million, nearly double the numbers garnered in the equivalent sales of 2009.

In New York, the original cover art for the children's classic Charlotte's Web catapulted to $155,000 at a Heritage Auctions sale.

Drawn by Garth Williams for E.B. White's beloved tale, the illustration was one of forty-two consigned by the artist's family. The images brought more than $780,000 combined.

The pre-sale estimate for the 1952 cover art was $30,000.