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Billionaire Chinese "Beverly Hillbilly" Pays $170 Million For Naked Woman At Christie's

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Back in May, we noted that if the Eccles cabal was looking for signs of hyperinflation, they could just head over to Christie’s and try to buy a "vibrant, multi-hued riot of colors that focuses mainly on a scantily dressed woman.”

That’s how WSJ described Picasso’s "Women of Algiers (Version O)" which went for a record $179,365,000 in a “dogged contest” at auction:

A month later, we said that classic cars seem to be in a bubble as well (although we also suggested it could be about to burst) with a 1955 Mercedes 300SL gullwing going for $2.5 million. 

And then there's the real estate market, where billions in capital fleeing China, ZIRP, NIRP, and the fact that trillions in global QE has served to inflate the fortunes of billionaires have led directly to soaring prices. As one Monaco-based shipping and real estate magnate told Bloomberg in May, "people want trophy homes. They’re a scarce commodity. And they’re better than gold because you can boast about it."

Right. Well now, a "Chinese bidder" gets to "boast" about owning an outstretched nude by Modigliani which just went for $170.4 million with fees at Christie’s - it was the second-highest price paid at auction in history. 

Here's The New York Times with more: 

The painting became the 10th work of art to reach nine figures under the hammer. The bidding was palpably tense, with six people vying for the lot, and it took nine minutes to sell, with the winning bid coming from a Chinese buyer on the phone.

 

The seller of the Modigliani, Laura Mattioli Rossi, the daughter of the Italian collector Gianni Mattioli, was guaranteed at least a $100 million minimum price. Just before the sale, Christie’s announced that a third party had stepped forward to share the risk — as well as any proceeds above the guaranteed price. 

And here's more from CRI on the Chinese bidder and the "tense" auction:

Chinese collector Liu Yiqian spent 1.084 billion yuan ($170.4 million) on a Modigliani nude painting at Christie's in New York on Monday, a new record for a Modigliani piece, according to Artron.net.

 

It is also the second-highest price ever for a work of art at auction, second only to Pablo Picasso's Women of Algiers, which sold for $179 million at Christie's in May.

 

Liu Yiqian, the man who founded the Long Museum in Shanghai with his wife, always makes a stir with his buying. He bought an imperial embroidered silk Thangka for about $45 million and a Doucai Chenghua "chicken cup" for $36 million last year.

 

Some half-dozen bidders competed for the canvas, which had remained in the same private collection for some 60 years and was offered as the highlight of a specially curated "Artist's Muse" sale, comprising 34 works in total.

 

In a packed salesroom marked by deliberate but determined competition, bidding started at $75 million - already more than Modigliani's auction record of $70.7 million - and ticked upwards in $5 million increments before a telephone bidder prevailed at $152 million.

 

The final price was $170,405,000 including Christie's' commission of just over 12 percent. The auction house had estimated the canvas would fetch more than $100 million.

Back to The Times:

Liu Yiqian, a former taxi driver turned billionaire art collector, confirmed on Tuesday that he was the buyer of the painting of a nude woman by Amedeo Modigliani that sold for $170.4 million at Christie’s New York on Monday night.

 

Speaking by telephone from Shanghai, the Chinese collector said he planned to bring the work back to the city, where he and his wife have two private museums.

In April, Bloomberg described Liu Yiqian as a "Chinese Beverly Hillbilly" who sips tea from 15th century Ming dynasty ceramic cups: 

In July he caused an online furor in China for drinking tea from a 500-year-old ceramic bowl that once belonged to revered Emperor Qianlong. A photo went viral showing him dressed in a short-sleeved, plaid shirt, with an incipient smirk as he raised the precious, palm-size “Chicken Cup” to his lips.

 

China’s netizens couldn’t decide which was more outrageous, his treatment of the historic artifact or the record $36 million he paid for it at a Sotheby’s sale in Hong Kong. Even his settlement for the bowl was theatrical: 24 separate swipes of his American Express Centurion card. He said he didn’t even realize that he qualified for hundreds of millions of reward points.

 

 

Conspicuous consumption isn’t new among the billionaires minted during China’s economic boom. But shows of wealth are considerably rarer since Xi came to power in 2012 and began a corruption crackdown that’s netted thousands of officials, some from the top echelons of power. Ten days after Liu’s tea-drinking stunt, the Communist Party said it was investigating former internal security chief Zhou Yongkang.

 

“I’m not nervous at all, because all my wealth is out in the open and there is nothing to worry about,” Liu says in an interview in one of his Shanghai museums. “Every country has experienced an anti-corruption campaign at some time.”

 

As if to prove the point, the AmEx card was out again last month for a Tibetan embroidered silk thangka he’d won for $45 million at an auction in November.

Anyway, you can read more about Liu in the Bloomberg article cited above. The point, for now, is that while DM central banks insist that due to a persistent "deflationary" impulse, what we need is still more QE which will only serve to inflate the financial assets of the world's Liu Yiqians, central planners are creating massive asset bubbles in everything from real estate to Modiglianis to ceramic bowls. 

As for Liu, we'll just say that paying $170 million for paintings of naked women doesn't sound like the kind of thing Xi would approve of...

 

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Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:29 | 6771934 bigdumbnugly
bigdumbnugly's picture

ellie mae?
'zat you?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:39 | 6771988 LowerSlowerDela...
LowerSlowerDelaware_LSD's picture

Most expensive ugly porn, ever...

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:50 | 6772026 DeadFred
DeadFred's picture

I'm sure you can download better for free... not that I've ever ever tried.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:56 | 6772056 Fish Gone Bad
Fish Gone Bad's picture

My thoughts exactly.  That is some real expensive porn.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:23 | 6772163 WordSmith2013
WordSmith2013's picture

Is The Global Art Market Another Massive Multi-decade Fraud?

 

http://themillenniumreport.com/2015/05/the-global-art-market-mother-of-a...

 

"The Global ART Market: Mother Of All Bubbles"

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:11 | 6772405 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Add up all the money spent related to/by my wife.... yeah, I could see $170MM.  Somewhere around that number.

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 17:35 | 6774293 J S Bach
J S Bach's picture

"The final price was $170,405,000 including Christie's' commission of just over 12 percent."

So, that means Christie's got over $20,000,000 just for hanging the stupid picture on their wall and banging the gavel?!  Sheeeeit.... the uber-wealthy are insane... terminally insane.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 17:11 | 6774162 nosam
nosam's picture

Art at these prices is just a form of money laundering. The price has nothing to do with the value of the piece. More info here:

http://mileswmathis.com/launder.pdf (pdf)

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:32 | 6772214 BeerMe
BeerMe's picture

Nudity is hardly pornography.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:37 | 6772230 Son of Loki
Son of Loki's picture

" ... a former taxi driver ...."

 

Smells fishy.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:40 | 6772593 Eirik Magnus Larssen
Eirik Magnus Larssen's picture

This.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:03 | 6772745 LowerSlowerDela...
LowerSlowerDelaware_LSD's picture

"Nudity is hardly pornography."

Exactly.  He got ripped off.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:17 | 6772454 Paint By Number
Paint By Number's picture

I paint too. Make a living at it too.

http://www.craigerickson.net/originals.htm

There is more than one art market. The extreme high end art market is a fantasy world. Don't get me wrong, I would be willing to take 7 figures for a painting, but this is not where the vast majority of professional artists live. That's why I get a bit miffed at people here who comment about "the art market," but really don't know what they are talking about.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:23 | 6772489 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

paint I do not think we got it wrong...it takes real skill and genius to make something of beauty..but they make art obscene when the value of one's paint strokes suck up such wealth that has the ability to change the living standards of so many..that is obscene.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:33 | 6772548 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

funny but most artists never see the big sums as they are long dead,,only auction houses and "investors" get the benefit of genius.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:43 | 6772610 Paint By Number
Paint By Number's picture

Why is it that art is one the few occupations where people feel it is okay to pass judgement on how much the work should be worth?

This flat pisses me off!

First, artists are generally not the ones getting paid in these big auctions. Second, why is it morally wrong for someone to spend their own money the way they want--foolish or not? Why does it only seem to be that there is some kind of moral element if someone pays big money for a painting? With your logic, we should all be riding bicycles because of all the ability of all that money going to cars to change the living standards of so many...

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 14:20 | 6773238 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

paint you might be a good painter, but you are a little slow on the uptake..think it thru ..riding bikes was a thread a little while ago some saw value in it.. now try as a human being to understand the point of wasted capital on this painting vs opening business ventures or backing new business ..try hard to think. this price for a painted canvas  is immoral as hell.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:38 | 6772966 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Very nice. I am glad you have sales. There are many good artists that have not sold a thing in a while.

Assume you work hard on your presence and SEO.

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:01 | 6772329 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

Why one earth would anyone 'download' porn? 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:39 | 6772972 JRobby
JRobby's picture

It is the best way to get trojan's and spyware. Makes work for the Geek Squad types.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:42 | 6772000 Expectorant
Expectorant's picture

Hu Lee Fuk!!

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:40 | 6772244 Big_Hitman
Big_Hitman's picture

My last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My sisters friend has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out. This is what I do... www.wallstreet34.com

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:28 | 6771935 401K of Dooom
401K of Dooom's picture

Wow!  Some Ting Wong!  Or Too Muh Yen?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:28 | 6771936 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

wtg bernanke

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:30 | 6771948 Bangin7GramRocks
Bangin7GramRocks's picture

Why does she have ass cheeks leading to her vagina? Is this some sort of anal porn for people who are afraid to do anal? Don't get me wrong, I'd fuck that cartoon right in her ass pussy. Just confused why this is hundred million dollar art.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:51 | 6772030 MoHillbilly
MoHillbilly's picture

I am up voting you because I don't know whether to be impressed or repulsed by your ass pussy theory

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:54 | 6772045 DeadFred
DeadFred's picture

It's an allegory on the vicissitudes of life and how they distort our perceptions, couldn't you tell?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:11 | 6772404 Overfed
Overfed's picture

Now, yer jist mekkin' thet up, arnt yew?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:08 | 6772114 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

It depicts a dream representing Man's triumph over Women. The woman's gaze is cast just outside the canvas to a sweaty biker wearing a dirty wife beater and holding a chain made of rose stems.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:08 | 6772119 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

It's really a Pissedoffcosto. He does that when he paints, you see distortion where he sees reality.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:32 | 6771956 Francis Marx
Francis Marx's picture

Better naked woman then naked man pictures.  The foreigners got it right.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:33 | 6771961 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Nice Bush, I mean Brush...

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:34 | 6771966 kliguy38
kliguy38's picture

"I'll Pay ANYTHING to get out of fiat and into something I can put under my arm and take with me on my Gulfstream.".... This is called a run on the bank

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:38 | 6771985 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Hope he doesn't walk around his house swinging elbows.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:41 | 6771997 Spungo
Spungo's picture

I Bet his friends called him Modigs 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:42 | 6771998 j0nx
j0nx's picture

A whatalini? Dafuq is that and who cares?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:26 | 6772182 Billy Sol Estes
Billy Sol Estes's picture

A cool artist

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 14:35 | 6773351 j0nx
j0nx's picture

If you say so.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:43 | 6772002 _ConanTheLibert...
_ConanTheLibertarian_'s picture

Looks like a cancelled shave job on that woman.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 15:18 | 6773597 JRobby
JRobby's picture

That is funny, trimming and edging is a relatively new "personal styling" choice.

"Choice" of course mandated/manipulated by the pictures rammed into our eyeballs along with "informed" commentary abour what is "hip", "trendy" "a must do or be outcast", and what is not.

What does it matter? Especially in the USSA that still views nudity as taboo and somehow connected directly to sex, deviant behavior etc..

Of course you would not assume that from the internet.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:43 | 6772003 schooltruth
schooltruth's picture

Wikipedia says he's worth $1.3 bil (mostly in real estate) and he's spent close $300 mil on 5 pieces of art?  Talk about illiquid.  

 

I know some of the guys that compete in these auctions and they are stunned at the way some people are overpaying.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:47 | 6772017 Super Broccoli
Super Broccoli's picture

well they're wrong, nobody's actually overpaying, it's just moneyloundering !

it's unimportant who buys the shit, look at the seller

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:54 | 6772042 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

And half the time, the buyer isn't the one actually taking final possession of the work anyway.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:57 | 6772066 Super Broccoli
Super Broccoli's picture

let me explain :

you've got 10 stinky dirty millions you wanta wash and you have that painting that values hum ... nobody actually cares but let's say 10 millions.

put it for sale

Mr Wu comes up and buys the painting for 20 millions (and you gave him a nice bag full of 10 millions of your dirty cash)

Mr Wu is happy, he can pretend he bought the shit for 20 mils and still have 10 mils cash he would spend easily in china or some other country were nobody cares about where the cash comes from

and as for you, you've cleaned you 10 mils ... and capital gains on art pieces is conviniently not taxed in you country !

 

conclusion : tax those capital gains and see those little marvels' prices plummet like it's 29'

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:08 | 6772111 DeadFred
DeadFred's picture

Overpaying implies that there is a 'correct' price for the item. How can anyone determine that price? Did it cost only $5 to dig it out of the ground or is it whatever some fool is willing to pay for it. The only intrinsic value for that painting is as fuel for a campfire in the apocalypse, other than that it's worth what some (Chinese money laundering fool) is willing to pay for it. If he trades it for 23,000 acres of Iowa farmland, which is the current exchange rate, then he successfully moved assets out of China. Think of the painting like petrodollars, not worth anything except as a temporary means of trading for what you want.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:13 | 6772425 Overfed
Overfed's picture

Nicer to look at than seashells, easier to get through customs than gold or cash. Not tracked and taxed like 0s and 1s on a piece of plastic.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:39 | 6772929 Blankenstein
Blankenstein's picture
 "Overpaying implies that there is a 'correct' price for the item. How can anyone determine that price?" .

Yes, but quantitative easing in the US, Europe and China has caused great market distortions.  This price might be what a recipient of this easy "money" will pay in the current market, but being in a loose monetary policy environment, it is highly likely this is an extreme bubble price, and he is a greater fool.  
Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:46 | 6772012 MoHillbilly
MoHillbilly's picture

Hell with that kind of money I could pay real women to lay around my house nude 24 hours a day

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:50 | 6772027 Mick Shrimpton
Mick Shrimpton's picture

...and probably get some fringe benefits.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:55 | 6772052 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Avoid fringe, damn near impossible to clean that stuff after the fact.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:32 | 6772212 Max Steel
Max Steel's picture

Touche 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:46 | 6772015 Billy Sol Estes
Billy Sol Estes's picture

Darkest night, candlelight
Your hands were soft, your skin too pale
White on white, I had to turn away
From your light

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:58 | 6772067 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

I hold your hand in mine, dear,
I press it to my lips.
I take a healthy bite
From your dainty fingertips.

My joy would be complete, dear,
If you were only here,
But still I keep your hand
As a precious souvenir.

The night you died
I cut it off.
I really don't know why.
For now each time I kiss it
I get bloodstains on my tie.

I'm sorry that I killed you,
For our love was so divine,
And till they come to get me
I shall hold your hand in mine.

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:31 | 6772210 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

 

 

You reminded me of this:

I ache for the touch of your lips, dear,
But much more for the touch of your whips, dear.
You can raise welts
Like nobody else,
As we dance to the masochism tango.

Let our love be a flame, not an ember,
Say it's me that you want to dismember.
Blacken my eye,
Set fire to my tie,
As we dance to the masochism tango.

At your command
Before you here I stand,
My heart is in my hand. ecch!
It's here that I must be.
My heart entreats,
Just hear those savage beats,
And go put on your cleats
And come and trample me.
Your heart is hard as stone or mahogany,
That's why I'm in such exquisite agony.

My soul is on fire,
It's aflame with desire,
Which is why I perspire
When we tango.

You caught my nose
In your left castanet, love,
I can feel the pain yet, love,
Ev'ry time I hear drums.
And I envy the rose
That you held in your teeth, love,
With the thorns underneath, love,
Sticking into your gums.

Your eyes cast a spell that bewitches.
The last time I needed twenty stitches
To sew up the gash
That you made with your lash,
As we danced to the masochism tango.

Bash in my brain,
And make me scream with pain,
Then kick me once again,
And say we'll never part.
I know too well
I'm underneath your spell,
So, darling, if you smell
Something burning, it's my heart.
Excuse me!

Take your cigarette from it's holder,
And burn your initials in my shoulder.
Fracture my spine,
And swear that you're mine,
As we dance to the masochism tango.

copyright <a href="http://elyrics.net" rel="nofollow">http://elyrics.net</a>

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:50 | 6772025 Zero-Hegemon
Zero-Hegemon's picture

Click bait for his walls

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:50 | 6772029 mijev
mijev's picture

Confucius say one in Kate Bush is worth ten in the hand.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:54 | 6772049 SpanishGoop
SpanishGoop's picture

So all this "good investment" art, classic cars, real estate is going to survive a nuclear hollocaust and after that you can trade them for food with....o wait.

O well, at least you have enjoyed them for a couple of years without standing in line for the local museum.

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:57 | 6772060 LeisureSmith
LeisureSmith's picture

Beautiful painting. 170 mill is a bit rich for me though so i'll settle for a copy...hell, maybe i'll dust of my brushes and try painting it my self.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:57 | 6772065 mijev
mijev's picture

I'd love to hear the new owner trying to pronounce the artist's name.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:28 | 6772190 Billy Sol Estes
Billy Sol Estes's picture

Moo-dick-ree-ronny

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 10:58 | 6772068 bluskyes
bluskyes's picture

I could have painted that

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:02 | 6772090 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

I thought the same, you or me. Might do better.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:05 | 6772101 BustainMovealota
BustainMovealota's picture

So could millions of other folks, but your not Modigliani.  There are a bunch of other factors for buying "art".  If I get enough hype, I could sell a painting, by a monkey, for millions of $$.  Just like the commercial of the mother and daughter at the action buying art and saying "Like daddy always says,,, money don't spend itself",   plenty of dumbass's with money

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:01 | 6772079 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

It's his fiat, he can do with it as he pleases until everyone stops believing in it. And even then he will have some pretty pictures and a nice cup!

I see his behavior as some astute cultural critique. Show us the absurdity of the money system by treating the fiat and art in this irreverent manner. 

The painting and cup are like fiat currency, you have to have everyone believing the emperor has clothes on for the scheme to work.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:02 | 6772091 ChargingHandle
ChargingHandle's picture

If it were a transgender nude the American billionaires would have doubled down.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:08 | 6772117 thunderchief
thunderchief's picture

I guess he likes white chicks.

I wonder how many times he has to beat off in front of that thing to pay for itself,

not to say what the picture would look like by then.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:17 | 6772135 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

He could set up a "spray and pay" station, have the world's longest most expensive ongoing Bukkake session. 

She is technically more of a peach chick than a white chick, but she would be white by the time the performance piece was finished.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:32 | 6772920 SmedleyButlersGhost
SmedleyButlersGhost's picture

Agreed - no way that paint is spunk proof. Maybe he could put a glass shield in front.  he's got enough $$$ to pay a squeegee man

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:26 | 6772171 SpanishGoop
SpanishGoop's picture

Her nipples are a bit small.

What's more to say.

O, and "Bush" is out !

 

 

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:25 | 6772502 Hongcha
Hongcha's picture

Agreed; but otherwise a pretty nice piece of 19th century trim.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:25 | 6772178 SilvertonguedAngel
SilvertonguedAngel's picture

Winner, winner naked chicken dinner!

 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:29 | 6772200 SilvertonguedAngel
SilvertonguedAngel's picture

Now he will always own a 'piece' of art history. Just think what the $$$ value of an original sex robot version 1.0 will be some day...

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:30 | 6772203 Lost in translation
Lost in translation's picture

On gunboards.com all the hillbillies sing the praises of some clown who paid $12,000 for a Mosin rifle, saying "such a great investment."

All while John Sheehan mocks them, "that's how the wealthy roll, boys."

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:32 | 6772211 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

Should have used one of those cash-back cards.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 17:16 | 6774204 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

AND bought it thru Ebates

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 19:41 | 6774685 Stevious
Stevious's picture

Ebates is evil!  I joined at fatwallet.com, and it took many hours removing its evil filters that messed with my ABP.  It entered many entries into my Adblock Plus negating its effect, so I could not block ads in places like Amazon.

 

You are warned.......beware.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 17:33 | 6774283 Abbie Normal
Abbie Normal's picture

Maybe he did -- Centurion cards have a limit of $1.5M per transaction, so he would have had to swipe the card 114 times.  But what will he do with the 17 Billion AMEX reward points?

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:36 | 6772226 Able Ape
Able Ape's picture

With a strategically cut circle, this could be the world's most expensive Glory Hole..I'd call it "Chick with a Dick" and hang it in some Porn Shop's back room...

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 11:53 | 6772296 IndianaJohn
IndianaJohn's picture

Lasha Darkmoon has written an essay on this artless fraud; http://www.theoccidentalobserver.com/2009/09/the-plot-against-art-part-1/

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:03 | 6772333 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

high end art...a scam, and everybody with real wealth plays..heck pay some thick necked ape 100 mil to throw footballs and call them great. distortions of true value must happen when fiat money systems rule. debased culture using debased fiat money..on this one mr chinaman, set the price. some tech billionaire will match it.

170 mil spent on creating jobs for the out of work is so common so middle class, no, to be elite ,is to spit on such use of money.

if our money was worth something it would have a relationship to how much effort and sweat went into producing the item, from teams of skilled people..one off  multimillon yuan paintings show the contempt the common worker is held in.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:05 | 6772364 Knittingwithone...
Knittingwithoneneedle's picture

Sounds like Japan in the 80's when they were paying USD 100mill for a couple of pictures of Sunflowers....... Anyhow it is a better place to store ones money than in a chinese bank and is easier to   take out of  the country when it all goes Pete Tong.....

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:26 | 6772509 Elliptico
Elliptico's picture

A predictable response to Playboy's new policy.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 12:35 | 6772560 Lesbian Schoolgirls
Lesbian Schoolgirls's picture

nicely trimmed pubes anyway

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:15 | 6772821 the grateful un...
the grateful unemployed's picture

speaking of income inequality, collectibles for the middle class, Hummel figures and such are in a bear market. i researched some things my parents bought over fifty years ago, they're worth about what they paid for them.
these paintings are of course unique and for the 1% buying collectibles, (or sports franchises) its a one way ticket to more wealth. if you want to see how worthless most of this stuff is watch Pawn Stars. the seller then smiles and takes his $200 and goes to dinner. putting on the Top Hat.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 13:32 | 6772932 nnnnnn
nnnnnn's picture

i would be ready to pay up to 200$ to not have this trash in my room

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 14:30 | 6773315 truthserum
truthserum's picture

Fuck! It's always the other guy that gets the great deals.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 18:33 | 6774490 falak pema
falak pema's picture

the modigliani shows good artistic  taste and the vacuity of money.

When art meets money shit meets the fan of hubris.

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 20:31 | 6774969 American Psycho
American Psycho's picture

pornhub's art is better

Thu, 11/12/2015 - 01:20 | 6780759 onmail1
onmail1's picture

Chinese are learning from Caballah tricks , have the monei & hide it too.

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