Gauntlet Gallery — Banksy Prints
Clock
Work Summary & Collector Notes
"Clock" is a working steel-rimmed wall clock whose white face is taken over by a single ink-brushed black rat, painted in Banksy's loose sumi-e style, scrambling and twisting across the dial as the hands sweep past a small orange center pivot. Produced for Banksy's 2019 Gross Domestic Product project, it turns the artist's signature rat motif into a literal household object — the rat "running" against time on the surface that measures it.
Collector notes: Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 45. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
Clock sits at the center of Banksy's most pointed assault on the commodification of his own work. Gross Domestic Product was conceived as a mock homewares brand after a greeting-card company tried to seize his trademark; rather than sell paintings, Banksy mass-produced functional objects to assert authorship through use rather than gallery sale. The rat — Banksy's career-long stand-in for the overlooked urban underclass and an anagram of "art" — is here forced into the most domestic form imaginable, a clock that keeps actual time. The piece compresses his anti-capitalist argument into a single sardonic image: the rat racing endlessly around a face that quantifies labor and value, a literal rendering of the "rat race."
Collector Perspective
As a Gross Domestic Product homeware rather than a Pictures on Walls paper edition, Clock was distributed through the project's deliberately anti-collector lottery model, where buyers had to answer "Why does art matter?" to qualify and prices were kept low by design. Edition size is small at 45, and these objects are typically unsigned, so authentication leans heavily on original GDP packaging, receipts, and any accompanying certification rather than a pencil signature. Functional GDP objects occupy an unusual niche: they are scarcer than the headline screenprints but trade in a thinner, more specialist segment of the market, so condition (the steel rim, intact movement, undamaged dial) and complete provenance materially drive value. Buyers should treat any "signed" claim with caution and verify the GDP chain of custody.
Historical Context
Gross Domestic Product launched in late 2019 as a "homewares brand" with a non-shop window display in Croydon, South London, created in response to a legal dispute over Banksy's trademark; the artist openly stated he was making products partly to defend his name. The range mixed provocative objects with deadpan domestic goods, and Clock belongs to the latter category — a usable household item carrying a subversive image. The rat had by 2019 been a Banksy fixture for nearly two decades, appearing in street stencils and prints worldwide, making its appearance on a literal clock a knowing late-career restatement of one of his founding motifs within the Contemporary era.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2019
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Screen Print.
- Edition details
- Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 45.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats Banksy's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: Read as documented context rather than stated intent: Gross Domestic Product launched in late 2019 as a "homewares brand" with a non-shop window display in Croydon, South London, created in response to a legal dispute over Banksy's trademark; the artist openly stated he was making products partly to defend his name. This is an interpretive reading of the release context, not a statement of the artist's intent for this specific work. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2019.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- Banksy — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- Banksy (Q133600) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
FAQ
What does this Banksy Clock depict?
It is a working steel-rimmed wall clock whose white dial features a single black ink-brushed rat, rendered in a loose sumi-e style, scrambling across the face while the hands turn around a small orange center pivot.
How many were made?
The edition size is 45, making it a small and scarce run within Banksy's output.
Is it signed?
As a Gross Domestic Product homeware, it is typically unsigned. Authentication relies on original GDP packaging, receipts, and provenance rather than a pencil signature, so any 'signed' claim should be verified carefully.
What medium is it?
It is a screen-printed image on a functional steel and glass wall clock — an object from the Gross Domestic Product range rather than a paper print.
What is Gross Domestic Product?
It was Banksy's 2019 mock homewares brand, launched via a non-shop window in Croydon, London, partly as a response to a trademark dispute; it sold functional objects through a lottery rather than a conventional gallery.
Who is Banksy?
Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist who emerged from Bristol in the early 1990s, known for fast stencil work, dark humour, and anti-establishment, anti-capitalist imagery including his recurring rat motif.
