The iconic interiors of the Four Seasons restaurant in New York have been dismantled forever after a controversial auction took place in the building yesterday (26 July).

Over 950 lots – including furniture, silverware and pots and pans – were sold for prices that soared above pre-sale estimates.

The award-winning modernist restaurant – designed by architect Philip Johnson inside Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram building – opened in 1959 and became a popular hangout for New York’s rich, famous and influential. Its lease has now expired and the owners have chosen to relocate.

While the bar, sculpture and curtains all remain, almost everything else has now been sold. Two leather-tufted ottomans by van der Rohe went for US$18,000; a collection table by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen fetched US$36,000 and a pair of bar stools sold for US$15,000. So competitive was the bidding, even the restaurant’s ashtrays went for thousands of dollars and the winning bid for one of the restaurant’s entrance signs hit US$65,000.

Philip Johnson's corner banquette Table 32 goes at #fourseasons auction for $28K, which it probably generated w 2 months of lunch checks

— Paul Goldberger (@paulgoldberger) July 26, 2016

@paulgoldberger a very sad event: the auction of the Four Season's contents and closure of Johnson's original dining space...

— KMDartandarch (@KMDartandarch) July 26, 2016

Critics of the sale, which was overseen by art and design auction house Wright, are furious at the way in which the items, which were designed to integrate perfectly with their landmark interiors, have been removed from their intended setting.

The Four Seasons is expected to be reincarnated in a new home next year, designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld.