The art piece “Comedian,” a duct-taped banana by Maurizio Cattelan was acquired by a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur for about $6.2 million on Wednesday, November 20th at the Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The initial estimated worth, which Sotheby’s had priced between $1 million and $1.5 million, was approximately four times the final sale price.
The piece was “Passionately debated, rhapsodically venerated, and hotly contested,” according to Sotheby’s.
Considering that Cattelan’s “Comedian” is a single banana that was duct-taped to a blank wall and apparently bought for $0.35 on the day of the auction, it is crucial to bear all of this in mind.
According to Reuters, “Comedian” went from having a starting price of $800,000 to $5.2 million at the auction, plus a buyer’s premium.
