I always thought it subverts religion and almost acts like an escape from religion
If you contextualise the piece within the confinement of Palestine
The sacred nature of the symbol is being replaced with a weapon to escape the oppressive nature And literally vault the walls
Perhaps a comment on how religion has caused a lot of suffering in the region

Is Banksy a Christian?

That would be radical.

I've always thought of it, wether you are a 'believer' or not, at the sheer hypocracy that the birthplace of Jesus is now smack bang in the middle of an open prison surrounded by war, torture and prejudice and perhaps the only salvation is over the wall using a grappling hook.  In the words of Patti Smith "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine".

Yep … auction it if you dont get the bites you want. They will have estimates but some auction houses will stipulate a reserve price will come into effect at a later date, so no issue there.

Sculptures are hit and miss for artists if their primary work is something else like painting/stenciling/prints.

I enjoy this piece very much, but my OCD triggers on the cross aspect with it being historically inaccurate. But maybe that adds to the charm of the piece.

Just an update on this - no deal done as yet! Had some very interesting offers - here is just a few examples............

Police Helmet plus cash

£250K straight deal

£300k straight deal

$260k straight deal

Signed GWB straight exchange (Yes really)

And many other others...........

For one reason or another, none have come to fruition - however what I can tell everyone is that the responses have been positive and at last the Grappling Hook seems to have the love it deserves! I have had many people tell me not to sell as there is no other original on the market for this price range, to hang on for this year as something big is happening etc etc.

So that is the situation and that is full disclosure, which i think as a long term member and contributer to the forum, is the information I should give. I understand people need to keep things confidential etc, however as i put it for sale on here, i feel like should share the results - also saves me time responding to everyone who is asking if it sold and what it sold for.

I don't want to be secretive (hard word to spell this, ha ha, had to google it!!) about it all, it is what it is and it is still available!

If I were you I'd accept one of those offers, they look pretty good to me.

Take the £300k

Hard to independently verify these offers. Signed gwrb?

id go for the £300k straight cash myself.

Sell it for cost or be branded a flipper tarnishing your reputation for all eternity. I am willing to do this favor for you as a one time gesture of good will. Hurry before I change my mind

Couple of sales that i found out about in the last year tell me I shouldn't. If the people who told me about them want to confirm on here, pleasse do so!

Very true - we had a few discussions about it and i was interested (but not 100%) - he then decided after taking some advice that it wasn't for him, but quote 'he would probably regret it in a couple of years'

I am not going to reveal who it was, but he knows his stuff and has bought and sold numerous Banksy's.

£48k inc VAT - more than 4 years ago now.

The offers are pretty good I think considering its an edition of 26. Also works on canvas will always command a premium, this one will not be for everyone considering the difficulty of displaying and the subject matter. Personally I’d take the signed GWB.