A rare set of nine non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from CryptoPunk will be auctioned by the art house Christie’s next May. This is a small selection of the first collectibles launched in 2017 by Larva Labs, the creative firm of the project. Today, the platform has 10,000 of these pixelated and tokenized faces on the Ethereum network.

For many, it has been surprising that Christie’s is interested in NFTs, as it is a gallery with more than 2 centuries of experience and a wealth of experience related to the history of art.

However, his recent interest seems like a clear demonstration of how human beings are coping with a reality that, until recently, seemed impossible. Well, a couple of months ago it was unimaginable to think that the same art room that auctioned works from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries , today presented an image of a rare alien that only exists in the virtual world.

The truth is that Christie’s selected nine CryptoPunks that were among the first 1,000 minted and belong to the private collection of their creators, as noted by the gallery through its Twitter account inviting art collectors to its “night sale of the century XXI ». He clarified that among those selected a “rare Alien” will be auctioned , which are usually the most requested among fans of this type of creation.

The auction house invited art collectors to its 19th century night sale, when it will auction 9 NFTs of CryptoPunks. Source: Twitter Christie’s.

Christie’s introduced NFTs to art history when last month it auctioned off a $ 70 billion tokenized work by digital artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple. As reported by CriptoNoticias at that time, the sale figure was unprecedented for this type of piece , which made its author one of the most valuable living artists in the world.

Christie’s highlighted the event by listing the auctioned piece as one of the most unique works in the history of digital art . The event had a great projection occupying a space in the main communication media around the world.

As the world turned its attention to the auction for Beeple’s piece, it didn’t make much of a splash that a pair of 24 x 24 pixel portraits of aliens with little hats sold separately for around $ 7.5 million each . The sale may have gone unnoticed by most, but not by Christie’s , who, at the time, may have realized that this was their opportunity to hold their next auction.

One of these NFTs with an alien image was sold by Dylan Field, CEO of the design app Figma, who in an interview said that within a century the token he had sold could be seen as the “Mona Lisa of digital art . ” He added that when he bought the collectible it was only worth $ 15, but that it was not as valued at the time as it is now, which allowed him to make a large profit.

Field also believes that the art of blockchain will continue to evolve, although many of the questions that the world is asking about these types of manifestations, currently remain unanswered.

However, Field acknowledged that NFTs are gaining value from the feverish speculation the community is trading them with. Although, beyond that, he believes that the environment that revolves around this ecosystem is developing a deep relationship with these cultural expressions.

We are making these images part of our own identity because we argue about them and even use them as an avatar. The truth of why I sold my Alien punk is because I want that image to become the patron saint of digital art. My 7804 figure was bought by someone mysterious barely identified as Peruggia, who is, for me, a reference to the Italian Vicenzo Peruggia who made the Mona Lisa portrait famous when he stole it in 1911. I don’t know who this Peruggia is who bought my Punk, but I feel a great identification with this person because he has valued this type of art as much as I have.

Interestingly, Christie’s is showing that it also appreciates CryptoPunk’s Ethereum tokenized art. And for more signs of how art is able to intersect in two different timelines, a version of the Mona Lisa is currently for sale in one of the virtual salons of this auction house, as we appreciated during our tour .