Tracey Emin’s bed, strewn with cigarette butts, discarded condoms and empty booze bottles, was among the top pieces at Christie’s 99.4 million-pound ($170.5 million) postwar and contemporary art sale in London yesterday.

The provocative British artist, 50, sat in the front of the packed salesroom as her 1998 piece, “My Bed,” surged from the opening bid of 650,000 pounds to the final price of 2.5 million pounds, including buyer’s commission. The result smashed her previous auction record of 481,875 pounds and more than doubled the expected high target of 1.2 million pounds.