With most eyes fixed on Andy Warhol's self-portraits at Christie's $301.6m sale in New York last night, many exceptional "lesser" items slipped by almost without mention.

One artwork that certainly didn't fall into that category was Urs Fischer's 23-foot bronze Untitled (Lamp/Bear), which made $6.8m, a new record for the Swiss artist.

The fluorescent bear-come-lamp, produced in 2005-06, will remain illuminating Seagram Plaza in New York until September.

Provocative and illuminating - Fischer's $6.8m bear

Said by Christie's to "celebrate the keepsakes that define a young child's life", perhaps the bear is also making a large Latin pun on the artist's first name.

The work has strong overtones of Jeff Koons' Puppy sculpture, which sits outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

"The successful buyer will be responsible for post-auction costs," advises Christie's.

The identity of the winning investor is unknown.