This is Damien Hirst's "The Golden Calf."



It's a 600-kg bull suspended in formaldehyde, its hooves and horns cast in gold. "The Golden Calf" is supposed to be a commentary on the rich people who gobble up everything he puts out there as art. Mockery at its best.

Its pre-auction value was estimated between $ 14.6 to $ 22 M.

Formaldehyde figures in most of his more notorious works, which can probably leave some people laughing, others with raised eyebrows.

Sotheby's just auctioned it for $ 23 M.

Save for the auctioneer's fee, the windfall is all Hirst's.

Look who's laughing now.