A banana duct-taped to a wall has sold for £4.9 million – part of the evolving relationship between art and finance
theconversation.comOn the evening of November 20, Sotheby’s auction house sold an artwork by Maurizio Cattelan for an astonishing sum. The piece, entitled Comedian, is not a conventional painting or sculpture.
It consists of an ordinary banana, duct-taped to a wall at a jaunty angle. The hammer price? A staggering US$6.2 million (£4.9 million).
The widespread incredulity surrounding this exorbitant price has been tinged with humour. The sale has been perceived by many as a kind of jest at the expense of the buyer, Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.
It has even spawned its own meme and hash-tag, #BTW, which stands for “Banana Tape Wall”. Sun took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to say he was “thrilled” with his purchase and would be eating the banana in the coming days.
