Third Place
Brent Stirton
Getty Images
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"GOD'S IVORY"
GUANGZHOU, CHINA, 4 FEBRUARY 2012: A Chinese man who has just purchased two ivory carvings from Daxin Ivory Carving company, one for $50 000 and the other for $70 000. Gary Zeng, 42, an engineer, is seen unwrapping the carvings in his living room and showing them to his wife and son, who most likely will inherit one of these in the future. The larger of the carvings is a gift Zeng bought to give to a successful entrepreneur friend of his in Shanghai. Zeng says that he bought these carvings as an investment and as a buddhist symbol of prosperity for the house he is building. Zeng is typical of a new wave of wealthy Chinese who have money to spend and see Ivory as an affirmation of success, a very aspirational phenomenon in Chinese culture.
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