Hilarious

Someone here posted a pic of theirs hanging next to CWSB or whatever Jesus with the bags is called and it was quite amazing as a set up. I think with brick walled background(?)

Unsold with highest bid £68k

Personally was kind of hoping the rope would combust upon hammer falling

Maybe it would have done better at Sotheby's even with Sotheby's lower estimate?

I think there could be collectors or investors who are put off by the subject matter of the crucifix seeing it as anti Israel, ergo anti semitic. It is political and it does have a very strong symbolic message attached. There is also the fact that when Banksy released this ltd edition. It received no press attention as compared to his stencils on walls. Who knows if collectors view walled off origin stuff by Banksy differently to his art in the streets of Europe and the US in a similar way that Hirst investors prefer his paintings to his pickled herrings and dead cats etc.

If Banksy had made a few of these grappling hook crucifixes and chucked one over a church wall with a stencil of a choirboy using it to escape a bishop with a boner and sold a few in an edition i'm sure chuckles all round it would have flown high in a saleroom for massive amounts of money.

Collectors can be very finicky and in a similar way that some Banksy fans framed his visit Historic Palestine print and hid the text under a mount for obvious reasons. Collectors investors would probably avoid bidding on this crucifix for similar reasons.

Better luck next time.

I don't get how this piece can be even close to labelled as antisemitic, if he just released it from a UK event.. that wouldn't even be a suggestion.

What's so offensive about the word Palestine?

Nothing is offensive about the word Palestine, about Palestine, or about the Palestinian people. The Palestine/Israel situation is incredibly complex and invokes some strong feelings on both sides. I live in the US where we currently have a ton of news articles about a Muslim politician’s comments and how they are antisemetic (they are not) because they aren’t always pro-Israel. My point was simply that some people, myself included, would prefer not to debate politics with everyone that walks through the door of their home and sees something, particularly on an issue like the Israel/Palestine conflict where I don’t have enough knowledge to adequately or appropriately express a position (I’ve got a Save or Delete poster up because that is an issue I can discuss. On the same note, I wouldn’t purchase or display any of his Tesco stuff because I’m not familiar with Tesco.). That said, I do have a box set on the wall. When someone looks at it, I can explain all about the Walled Off Hotel, the effort to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinian people, etc. it’s a more subtle political piece.

I love Banksy’s work. I love that his hotel has brought awareness to the ongoing situation in Palestine—I don’t think that I even knew about the wall before he drew attention to it. I can just see why some people wouldn’t be interested in displaying some of his pieces.

If I owned the Grappling Hook I would keep a stack of pamphlets directly below the work of art. Also, it doesn’t have to be in direct view of everyone entering your home. I can think of 10 other rooms that it would be better suited for: the library, the game room, home office, pool house, the baby’s quarters, etc.

Wine Cellar. Tell me this wouldn’t look great in a wine cellar.

Buyers premium is a joke.

www.bonhams.com/how_to_buy/16362/

For example : "25% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £2,500 up to and including £300,000"

It's not as if they put a hundred times more work into selling something for 250K as opposed to 2.5K

A controversial piece of art by the infamous Banksy which sold at auction for more than £83,000 is now on display at Ely Cathedral.

The large piece, which depicts Jesus Christ on a metal grappling hook, can be seen inside a glass container thanks to an anonymous art collector.

Aptly named The Grappling Hook (2017), the unique piece - signed by the mystery street artist Banksy - can be viewed from now until the end of September.

Arguably one of Banksy's most iconic pieces, it is said to highlight the struggles surrounding the West Bank and the division of the two most holy cities in Christianity.

Banksy himself describes The Grappling Hook - which was bought at a London auction for £83,306 - as a "military grade grappling hook and combined spiritual ornament".


Being displayed in Ely Cathedral may raise a few eyebrows in the city, however Dean of Ely Mark Bonney has said that the cathedral is a "wonderful backdrop" for the piece.

He said: "Obviously there are strong statements associated with many of Bansky's works, and we hope many will come to see this piece and draw their own interpretation and meaning from it.

"We are not displaying it to create any political statement, although it is borne out of very troubled political situation - but we cannot either escape the fact that Jesus' crucifixion had a very strong political element to it too.

"I think this work will create a particular presence and challenge in a building devoted to the Christian faith. The cathedral provides a wonderful backdrop for art and sculpture."

The Grappling Hook was dropped off by the specialist collector who bought the piece for £83,000; he told the cathedral he wishes to remain anonymous.

When it was sold to the collector in March this year, it marked the first time Banksy had put his work up for sale since 2013 when he set up a pop up shop in New York,

Visitors can now view the artwork which is attached to a large four metre long knotted rope in a glass container on top of its original hand-made custom box.

The piece, described by Bonhams auctions as "arresting, humorous and polemic", is on a temporary loan to the cathedral from the owner for the summer months.

For more information about the piece and how you can see it for yourself, visit: www.elycathedral.org

This is the press release from the Cathedral.....

Banksy gets his hook into Ely Cathedral

An extraordinary art work by the renowned street artist, Banksy, will be on temporary display in Ely Cathedral during the summer months.

The Grappling Hook (2017) is an original piece signed by the artist, and is presented in the form of a large crucifix with 3 steel grapples and over 4 metre length of knotted rope.

The ‘Grappling Hook’ is widely acknowledged as one of the most iconic pieces to emerge from Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and is known to have been created as a powerful statement highlighting the struggles surrounding the West Bank and the division of the two most holy cities in Christianity.

Banksy refers to the piece as a “military grade grappling hook and combined spiritual ornament”. As well as the Grappling Hook, the specially created hand sprayed box will also be on display. It has been described as arresting, moving and polemic and ranks alongside the artist’s most significant works.

As controversial as it may seem for a Cathedral to be displaying such work, Mark Bonney, Dean of Ely commented – “The Cathedral provides a wonderful backdrop for art and sculpture. Obviously there are strong statements associated with many of Bansky’s works, and we hope many will come to see this piece and draw their own interpretation and meaning from it. We are not displaying it to create any political statement, although it is borne out of very troubled political situation – but we cannot either escape the fact that Jesus’ crucifixion had a very strong political element to it too. I think this work will create a particular presence and challenge in a building devoted to the Christian faith”.

The Grappling Hook has been kindly loaned to the Cathedral by a specialist collector who wishes to remain anonymous and will be in situ from mid July until the end of September. Please visit the website for further details – www.elycathedral.org.

Press release from Ely Cathedral

Hands down the best I've seen it displayed. Isn't the meaning behind this actually anti organised religion though?