Bernard Buffet's Le Regarde was the headline lot of Christie's Out of the Ordinary sale in London on September 3.

The lot sold for ?�194,500 ($320,147) against a ?�60,000 ($99,420) estimate - an increase of 224.1%.

L'Alcazar was one of the famous cabarets in Paris during its heyday

The work was used as the curtain for Parisian cabaret club L'Alcazar, opened by legendary impresario Jean-Marie Riviere in 1968.

The venue attracted the best drag artists in the country along with a glittering clientele, including names like Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli.

The venue would later become the Rock 'n' Roll Circus, where Jim Morrison is alleged to have overdosed on heroin in 1971.

Bernard Buffet's work appears to be growing in popularity among collectors, despite it being widely derided by the French art establishment.

His Bouqet de Pavots made $126,213 in a sale in Johannesburg last year, an 86.8% increase on a $67,580 estimate.

A silver cigar box in the shape of Harrods department store was another highlight, achieving ?�86,500 ($142,379).

The piece was presented to Woodman Burbidge by rival Gordon Selfridge, after the former won a wager in 1927. 

Other interesting lots included a Royal Navy Nordenfelt anti-torpedo gun, which made an identical figure of ?�86,500 ($142,379), and an oak leg-locking "capture" chair that sold for ?�27,500 ($45,625).

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