LONDON -- After a tense bout of telephone bidding, the violin purported to have been played as the Titanic sank sold Saturday for more than $1.4 million.
The violin, believed to be the one played by bandmaster Wallace Hartley after the doomed ocean liner struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic, was claimed for $1,454,400 at auction in London.
The figure for surpassed the estimated price tag of $325,000 and breaks the record for a single Titanic-related item.
"It is just a remarkable piece of history," said Andrew Aldridge, of auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son. "I have been an auctioneer for 20 years, but I have never seen an item that brings out this degree of emotion in people before."
The violin, with Hartley's name on it, is believed to have been found at sea with the musician's body more than a week after the Titanic sank.
Hartley and his seven fellow band members were among the 1,517 people aboard the Titanic who died after it hit an iceberg. According to some accounts, the band played the hymn "Nearer, My God, To Thee" to keep spirits up as the passengers boarded lifeboats in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
The musicians have been hailed as heroes for sacrificing their chances of escape.
"Mr. Hartley and the band were very brave people ... standing by their posts to the bitter end," Aldridge said.
The auction house said the violin has been subject to numerous tests to check its authenticity since it was discovered in 2006. It said earlier this year that the violin was Hartley's "beyond reasonable doubt."
The violin, of German make, was a gift from Hartley's fiancee Maria Robinson, and was engraved with the words "For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria." It can no longer be played, Aldridge said.
The previous record sale for Titanic memorabilia saw a 32-foot model of the ship used in the inquiry into the sinking in 1912 fetch more than $340,000 two years ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.