Pope-hit-by-meteorite sculpture auctioned for £620,000

http://ananova.com/news/story/sm_297692.html

A sculpture of The Pope crumpled under a black meteorite has been auctioned at Christies in New York for £620,000.

The Ninth Hour, by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan, caused a stir in Poland last December when two outraged MPs removed the meteorite from it.

The room-sized sculpture features a life-size wax figure of Pope John Paul II felled by a meteorite and holding his processional cross.

He is surrounded by shattered glass, supposedly caused by the meteorite crashing through a skylight.

The winning bid of $886,000 (about £620,000) far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $600,000 (about £280,000 to £419,000) at the auction.