ALBANY – The State Court of Appeals reached back to an 1834 decision to determine that the successful absentee bidder on a 19th century Russian artifact cannot get out of his $400,000 bid just because the seller was identified by a number rather than a name.

In a 7-0 reversal of a unanimous holding of the Appellate Division, Second Department, the court found that Albert Rabizadeh cannot evade his bid.