A banana duct-taped to a wall was bought for $6.2m (£4.9m) by a Chinese crypto mogul who immediately vowed to eat his new purchase.

“Comedian”, which was created by Maurizio Cattelan, was bought by Justin Sun for four times above its estimated $1.5m value at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday.

The banana, which was displayed alongside top-selling artists Willem de Kooning and Gerhard Richter, first exhibited in Miami in 2019 and has been eaten by pranksters on two occasions.

According to the terms of the auction, Mr Sun officially purchased a “certificate of authenticity signed by the artist”.

“In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience,” he said after completing his purchase.