A postcard with a signed drawing by famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso has been sold for a record breaking price of $188,000 (166,000 euros) in Germany.
The transaction set the "world record for a postcard", according to a statement released on Saturday by the Gaertner auction house in Germany's southern town of Bietigheim-Bissingen.
The post card depicts a simple aerial view of the southwestern French town of Pau, with a drawing added by Picasso on the back, “which can be considered part of the artist's cubist still life series,” the statement read.
The card was purchased by a "trans-Atlantic collector" who took part in the auction via phone, the statement said, adding that bidding for the piece started at 100,000 euros.
Picasso sent the postcard to his friend, French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, on September 5, 1918.
But as the address was inscribed in Spanish and the receiver’s name was stated as Don Guillermo Apollinaire, it was never delivered and stamped with the French equivalent of "return to sender."
SRK/NT/AS