A bathtub shaped as a golden hippo sold for $4.3 million at Christie’s on Tuesday in New York, returning almost 2,500% to its owner, who purchased the work more than a decade earlier. The work by François-Xavier Lalanne is a life-size incarnation of the African beast, with a sink and vanity folded into its maw and a full bathtub inside its body. The unique piece was made in 1969 from welded brass and copper. It was estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million. The anonymous owner bought it for $168,000 at a 2006 Sotheby’s auction. The tub was among the quirkier items offered during the semiannual auction week that’s short o ... (full story)