The German beauty served as the event's chair on Saturday (26Sep15) and helped to boost the price of the large sculpture by publicly teasing her partner.

"Vito, I thought you were going to buy me the snail!", the stunner joked at the bash.

The art dealer, son of filmmaker Julian Schnabel, obliged and placed the winning bid of $22,000 (£13,750) for the 11-foot (three-metre) tall snail, created by the Cracking Art Group.

Klum later revealed she plans to place the creation in her garden.

Other pricey lots at the auction included a high-speed car race in Las Vegas with Furious 7 star Michelle Rodriguez, which was snapped up for $83,900 (£52,438) by Ferrari heir Lapo Elkann, and an autographed 1970 picture of Debbie Harry, taken by rock photographer Mick Rock, which sold for $22,000 (£13,750).

The Milan amfAR event, which featured a performance from Harry herself, raised a record $1.6 million (£1 million) for the AIDS research charity, the most in its seven-year history.

Klum, 42, began dating Schnabel, 29, in early 2014. He was previously linked to actress Demi Moore.