The futuristic metal lounger was the star of a 168-lot auction at Phillips de Pury & Co. It had been expected to fetch between 500,000 pounds and 700,000 pounds and was bought by a telephone bidder. The chair was fought for by two other bidders on the phone and two more in the room. The price included fees.

Other versions of the Australian-born, London-based designer’s limited-edition 1988 divan had previously held the contemporary-design record. In June 2006, an example sold at Sotheby’s, New York, for $968,000. Another fetched 748,500 pounds at Christie’s International, London, in October 2007.

This particular version, one of four artist’s proofs, was used by Madonna for a promotional film for her 1993 single “Rain.” In 1999, before auction prices for cutting-edge design mirrored the dramatic increases seen for contemporary art, the chair failed to sell at Christie’s in London. It was then estimated at 35,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds.

“It’s the seminal piece of contemporary design,” Kenny Schachter, a London-based dealer in contemporary art and design, said in an interview before the sale. “Everything in the market is measured against this.”

Scott Reyburn, Bloomberg.com