Halle Berry Joins More Than 400 Celebrities And Business Elite Taking Part In Record-Setting Charity Event#
Last night, BAZAAR China held its 8th annual Charity Night event in Shanghai, which raised a total of 19 million RMB (US$2.75 million) for the China Social Assistance Foundation (CSAF). The money raised at the event will be put towards the reconstruction of Yushu, the site of this month's devastating earthquake, as well as drought relief in the stricken southwestern provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi and Yunnan. In attendance at last night's event were more than 400 celebrities and businesspeople, including international stars like Halle Berry and the South Korean pop group Wonder Girls.
At the night's charity auction, in addition to watches and jewelry from companies such as Tiffany, Cartier and Chow Tai Fook, up for grabs was a new painting by top Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi, "Untitled 10-3-23." The 200 x 200 cm oil painting sold for a whopping 10 million RMB (US$1.5 million) to an unnamed bidder after a contentious bidding battle with the actor Huang Xiaoming.
Zeng, who recently had a piece sell at the Haiti charity auction organized by Cai Guo-Qiang, has proven exceptionally popular among China's new generation of budding art collectors. However, his popularity at auction is likely only half of the reason a piece by Zeng was included in this weekend's event: regular readers of BAZAAR China might remember that the magazine included a cover story on Zeng last June.
From QQ (translation by Jing Daily team):
Zeng Fanzhi's work "Untitled 10-3-23," was immediately "bid up" to 2 million [RMB] by Huang Xiaoming the moment it appeared on stage, then quickly moved up in price in increments of 500,000 to 1 million RMB. When Huang Xiaoming again raised his placard to bid at 8.5 million RMB, the guests murmured excitedly that Huang Xiaoming is even more charitable than [Beijing-based film production company] Huayi Brothers.
But just as guests thought Huang Xiaoming to be the "king" of the night, an unassuming, mysterious guest stunned the audience with a bid of 9.88 million RMB. For a moment, his bid remained unchallenged. But soon, after being encouraged and "provoked" by surrounding guests, this mysterious bidder again raised his bid to 10 million RMB, sealing the deal.
The 10 million RMB paid for the Zeng Fanzhi painting was not only the top bid of the night, it also set a record for a single item since the inception of BAZAAR Charity Night.
Below is a video of the auction event, which -- even if you can't understand Chinese -- gives a good sense of the action. The winning bid -- and mysterious bidder -- can be seen at 7:55:
Anybody recognize this mystery man?
