RAT AND SWORD, 2005

Provenance

• Private Collection
• Bonhams, London, 24 October 2007, Lot 267
• Private Collection
• Lazarides Inc., London
• Acquired from the above by the present owner

Auction History

Catalogue Note

In August 2004 Bansky was in the news again after designing and unveiling a 6m satirical bronze statue, protesting at the British Legal System. It was modelled as a modified version of the statue of Justice from the Old Bailey and depicted the female figure in a state of undress; her uplighted robe revealing suspenders, a thong, a garter stuffed with American dollars and a blindfold. The statue was unveiled to a crowd of several hundred admirers at Clerkenwell Green, London. The location was significant as it once housed the largest courtroom in the country and also because Banksy had previously been arrested here. A statement was read out by MC Dynamite on Banksy’s behalf: “It’s the most honest depiction of British justice currently on display in the capital,” Banksy said. “I hope it stays there for good.” The three and a half tons statue was removed two days later with a crane by the council for health and safety reasons. In the short time that it had stood in the square the sword had been removed by an admirer. When later Banksy reclaimed the statue from the council, footing the bill for its removal, he was also keen to retrieve the missing sword.

The present lot was a gift to its previous owner in thanks for his assistance with the return of this sword. Not only is it an unique work, but with the inclusion of the sword in the stencil design, and the inscription to the rear, it represents both a highly personalized and humorous account of the above event.

Armed and defiant, Rat and Sword slices through the silence of the blank canvas with minimalist force. Positioned in the lower corner, the lone rat clenches a sword in its teeth like a rodent swashbuckler: small in scale but vast in symbolism. With his classic stencil technique, Banksy once again elevates the humble rat to the status of urban icon: scrappy, underestimated, and undeniably persistent.

The overwhelmingly empty space around the figure amplifies its presence. The rat isn’t just brandishing a weapon: it is declaring war on invisibility. With no graffiti tags, no clutter, no message other than its sheer audacity, this rat becomes a quiet emblem of rebellion. A creature from the margins standing tall in a world too big to notice. Like much of Banksy’s rat series, Rat and Sword turns the underdog into the protagonist. It reminds us that resistance doesn’t always roar: it sometimes squeaks, sharpened teeth and all.