A 7th-century leaf from a Quran fetched a record £2.5 million pounds with fees in London at Christie's International's  biggest-grossing sale of Islamic art.

The lot sale of Islamic Art raised £11.8 million pounds with fees, more than doubling Christie's presale upper estimate, the auction house said in an e-mailed statement. Seventy-one percent of the lots found buyers.

Christie's said the 36-centimeter vellum leaf was one of the earliest fragments of the Quran produced. The price paid by an anonymous collector, more than 20 times the lower estimate, was the highest for an Islamic manuscript at auction, said Christie's.

“The number of international private buyers active at the top end of the market demonstrates the increasing strength in depth in the Islamic and Indian Art Worlds,” William Robinson, Christie's international head of Islamic art, said after the auction.

Similar upcoming auctions of Islamic and Indian art by Sotheby's and Bonhams will also test demand from collectors as credit losses mount. Islamic and Indian art, with their historical and cultural connections, are traditionally regarded as a combined sale category by international auction houses.