Banksy Smiley Grim Reaper Wrong War Cardboard Placard, London Iraq March 2003, Painted Both Sides
Banksy Smiley Grim Reaper Wrong War Cardboard Placard, London Iraq March 2003, Painted Both Sides
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $2,125, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
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- Character
- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
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Print, painting and frame
Condition report
Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Carried, not hung
For the collector of the anti war works of 2003.
Best for: Collections of protest art and ephemera
Condition notes
Creases, soft corners and handling marks, as expected of a board carried on a march. The sticker is present and legible.
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A cardboard placard, 95 by 69 cm, with the hooded reaper and his yellow smiling face, recorded as carried on the London march against the Iraq war in 2003.
The Piece
The reaper stands in black on plain brown board, scythe in hand, his face replaced by a bright yellow smiley, with Wrong War stencilled beneath. A printed sticker on the front announces the demonstration of Saturday 15 February 2003 at noon on the Embankment. The reverse is lettered by hand in red paint with the words Blood on your hands.
Stencilled placards were handed to marchers that day and most were thrown away by evening. This one is recorded as bought from a gallery in the United States. Its two painted sides set it apart, and it can be framed to show either.
The March of February 2003
The armed helicopter wearing a bow, known as Happy Choppers, dates from the months when Britain marched against the invasion of Iraq. With the words Wrong War beneath it, the image was carried on placards through London in 2003 and has remained one of the defining pictures of that protest. The march of 15 February 2003 was the largest political demonstration in British history, and the cardboard placards made for it are among the few works by the artist that were meant to be carried rather than left on a wall. Cardboard is a fragile carrier, and survivors with their stickers intact are uncommon.
Details
- Work: Smiley Grim Reaper, Wrong War
- Support: Corrugated cardboard, 95 x 69 cm (37.4 x 27.2 in)
- Medium: Spray paint and stencil, hand lettering in red to the reverse
- Recorded history: London, 15 February 2003
- Marks: Period demonstration sticker
Sizes are measured by hand; please allow a small margin.
Condition
- Creases, soft corners and handling marks, as expected of a board carried on a march.
- The sticker is present and legible.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade B (good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
This piece is offered as a street work by the artist on the strength of its recorded history, the marks it carries and the papers shown in the photographs. Pest Control, the office that speaks for the artist, does not certify works taken from the street, and no certificate from that office accompanies it. Collectors who wish to examine the history in full, or to arrange an independent opinion, are invited to write to the Desk before buying. Examined and photographed in Japan before dispatch.
Delivery from Japan
Packed by hand in Japan in a rigid case and sent insured by express freight; because of its size the delivery charge is quoted and agreed with you before purchase. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally.
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