A provocative art piece featuring a sculpture of Pope John Paul II crumpled under a black meteorite fetched $886,000 at a Christie's auction that broke sales records for several contemporary artists.
The sculpture, "La Nona Ora" ("The Ninth Hour"), by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, caused a stir in Poland last December when two Parliament members removed the meteorite.
The room-sized piece features a wax figure of the pope felled by the meteorite and holding his processional cross. The life-size figure of the pontiff is surrounded by shattered glass caused by the meteorite crashing through a skylight.
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The winning bid far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.