A crypto entrepreneur purchased a banana and a roll of duct tape at an auction for $6.2 million.
The banana and duct tape were sold at auction to represent Maurizio Cattelan’s viral 2019 artwork, though they are not the originals.
The fresh fruit was purchased for 35 cents on the morning of the auction, which took place at Sotheby’s New York.
The Guardian reports:
In a competitive and fast-moving auction in which cryptocurrency bids were accepted, bidding started at US$800,000 and quickly leapt beyond the initial estimates, as bids flew fast within the room at Sotheby’s Upper East Side location as well as over the phone and online.
“I never thought I’d say ‘$5 million for a banana’,” auctioneer Oliver Barker quipped as the bidding approached its climax. The banana displayed at Sotheby’s was reportedly purchased for 35c earlier that day.
Jen Hua from Sotheby’s China office placed the winning bid on behalf of Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who will pay US$6.2m including the buyer’s premium.
For $6.2 million, Sun will receive the banana, a roll of duct tape, and instructions on how to tape it to the wall.
“This is not just an artwork, it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” Sun said in a statement to Sotheby’s, obtained by The Guardian. “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”
Sun plans to eat the banana, “honouring its place in both art history and popular culture.”
The original banana was taped to a wall at Art Basel Miami in 2019 and was offered for $120,000.
The banana was removed from the wall, eaten by New York performance artist David Datuna, and replaced with another.
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