A 55.22 carat legendary Mozambican Ruby named the “Estrela de Fura” has broken the world record in sales after it was sold for a princely $34.8 million (€31 million) during Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York on Thursday.

The “Estrela de Fura,” a precious coloured gemstone, broke the record previously held by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59 carat Burmese stone which sold for $30.3 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2015.

The “Estrela de Fura” ruby was recently cut from a 101 carat rough stone discovered at a mine in Mozambique in July 2022, which is one of the largest ruby deposits in the world.

The Sotheby’s auction house, in a statement on Friday, said rubies of such magnitude were “exceedingly rare”, with only two examples previously hitting the $15 million mark.

“The biggest ruby ever to come to auction has been sold in New York for a record sum of $34.8m (£28m),” the auction house said, describing the 55.22-carat gem, as a “once-in-a-lifetime” jewel.

The head of the Sotheby’s Jewellery in New York, Quig Bruning, told journalists after the auction that when he first saw the stone, he was entranced.

“With its unprecedented size, piercing colour and rare degree of optical transparency and clarity, it truly deserved the record-breaking price today, as it now joins the ranks of the world’s most legendary gemstones,” Bruning said.

Bruning added that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the “Estrela de Fura” would be allocated to set up an academy to provide technical training in the fields of mining, engineering, carpentry and agriculture in Mozambique.

Egyptian antiquities authorities have warned archeologists from the Netherlands not to hold exhibitions linking international music stars, Beyonce and Rihanna to the Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.

The warning which came from the National Museum of Antiquities, came after Egyptian authorities accused the Dutch archeologists of falsifying history through its showcase of works by musical artistes including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nas and Miles Davis.

The exhibition which was held at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (RMO) entitled “Kemet. Egypt in Hip Hop, jazz, soul & funk,” according to the organisers, was aimed at demonstrating how Ancient Egypt and Nubia havd been “an undeniable source of inspiration for musicians of African descent for over 70 years.”

“The artists have embraced the ancient cultures and employed the associated motifs as symbols of resistance, empowerment and spiritual healing,” the exhibition organisers said in a statement.

The exhibition featured photographs and music videos showing how Beyoncé and Rihanna had both appeared as Queen Nefertiti, while a modern sculpture of Nas based on the famous gold mask of King Tutankhamun was also on display.

In addition, there were several of Sun Ra’s Egyptian-inspired costumes and songs by artistes ranging from Nina Simone and Fela Kuti to Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill.

“The exhibition also looks at what scientific research has revealed about ancient Egypt and Nubia and discusses how they have been studied from Eurocentric and Afrocentric perspectives,” the statement said.

However, the Egyptian culture authorities did not take the exhibition lightly, which they said was part of an effort to distort its history.

In the past three months, Egypt has been battling a series of what it calls the “falsification of history” and pursuit of “Afrocentric theory” following a recent depiction of one of its revered Queens, Cleopatra as a “Black Woman” in a Netflix documentary.

The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry insisted that Cleopatra had “Hellenistic (Greek) features”, including “light skin”.

In response to the warning, the RMO said it was disappointed to be “informed in a recent email from a senior Egyptian antiquities official that it was no longer allowed to excavate at the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo after almost 50 years of work there.”

“The Egyptian authorities have every right to terminate a permit for an excavation; after all, it is their land and their heritage. However, the museum considers the underlying argument for this decision incorrect.

“The Egyptian authorities conclude that our current exhibition is about ‘falsifying’ the ancient Egyptian history. This political argument is used to express the dissatisfaction with the exhibition and to ban our excavation.”