( CNN ) -- An oil painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi has sold for $ 23.3 million at an auction in Hong Kong - a record price for Asian contemporary art . The 4-meter wide painting was sold to a private collector , who wanted to remain anonymous , after 15 minutes of tense telephone bidding at an evening auction held by auction giant Sotheby 's on Saturday . Bidding started at $ 9 million . The 2001 work is a recreation of `` The Last Supper '' by Italian master Leonardo Da Vinci , which depicts the last meal between Jesus and the 12 disciples when Jesus foretold his betrayal by Judas . In Zeng 's work , the religious figures have been replaced by young communists with red neckties . The figure replacing Judas wears a western-style yellow tie - symbolizing China 's move toward capitalism , said Evelyn Lin , Sotheby 's head of contemporary Asian art . `` The painting represents a transformative period in Chinese society , '' she said . Lin said the sale showed the market for Chinese art , which slowed significantly in 2012 , was `` very healthy . '' The previous record for a work by an Asian contemporary artist was a sculpture by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami that sold for $ 15 million in New York in 2008 . The painting was sold by Swiss collectors Guy and Myriam Ullens de Schooten . They bought the work from a Beijing gallery in 2002 .
Oil painting recreating `` The Last Supper '' sets record for Asian contemporary art . A new exhibition of the work of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at Tate Modern has set a world record. Da Vinci work shows young communists with red neckties . Painting sold for $ 23.3 million .