Barcode
Barcode
Unsigned Print
Banksy
£22,000-£35,000Value
Indicator
$40,000-$70,000 Value Indicator
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
¥200,000-¥310,000 Value Indicator
€26,000-€40,000 Value Indicator
$220,000-$350,000 Value Indicator
¥4,090,000-¥6,510,000 Value Indicator
$28,000-$45,000 Value Indicator
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren’t enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Screenprint
Format: Unsigned Print
Year: 2004
Size: H 50cm x W 70cm
Edition size: 600
Signed: No
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Track auction value trend
Within the last 12 months, the highest buyer-paid value for Banksy's unsigned Barcode was £32,760 in March 2023. The hammer price varies during this period ranging from £18,000 to £26,000, and the average return to seller £18,665 across six sales. During the last five-year period, the highest buyer-paid value was £100,800 in December 2020, and the hammer price ranges from £10,142 to £80,000. This work is popular on the market, showing a dramatic increase in sales volume and value. The total sales volume is 30, and this work has sold largely within the United Kingdom.
Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2023 | Bukowskis, Stockholm - Sweden | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2023 | Bonhams New Bond Street - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2023 | Christie's London - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| January 2023 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| November 2022 | Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| August 2022 | Sotheby's Online - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print | |||
| December 2021 | Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom | Barcode - Unsigned Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Banksy's Barcode is an unsigned screen print released in 2004, depicting a leopard emerging from a barcode resembling bent cage bars, in his signature monochromatic, stencilled style. Produced in an edition of 600, it comments on the connection between consumerist capitalism and humanity's disregard for other species.
Banksy often employs a monochromatic palette to emphasise his powerful message and this black and white artwork is that signature stencil-style. It shows a majestic leopard in the foreground coming forth as if it was exiting the frame towards the viewer. Behind the leopard is a cage, which resembles a barcode from which the leopard seems to have escaped, given its bent bars.
Since Banksy’s beginnings in graffiti, he has been noted for his social commentary, taking on issues from police brutality, to the refugee crisis, war and animal cruelty. Here Banksy might be commenting on the way in which humans 'use' the environment and those creatures within it for their own entertainment or amusement – the most notable example of course, being zoos or sea-parks. The motif of the barcode suggests a critique of consumerism and commercial capitalism, which puts a price tag on everything including animal and human life. Animals are among his favourite symbols, often used in subversive artworks such as rats (Love Rat, Gangsta Rat) and monkeys (Laugh Now) also as a potential metaphor for people of the working class.
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