Gaza man sells bombed-out doorway adorned with Banksy painting for pittance
A Palestinian man is lamenting his misfortune after selling his bombed-out doorway to a local artist without realising that the image painted on it was by Banksy and could be worth a small fortune.
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Rabea Darduna, a father of six from northern Gaza, said he sold the iron-and-brick doorway of his destroyed house to a local man who offered him 700 shekels ($230) for it.
Banksy, a British street artist who is famed for his ironic murals in unexpected places, visited Gaza earlier this year and spray-painted an image of a goddess holding her head in her hand on the door. If I knew, I would never have sold the door so cheap.
Rabea Darduna
The work was one of a handful of paintings he did in Gaza.
"I had no idea what the value of the painting was or who this Banksy is," a frustrated Mr Darduna said.
"If I knew, I would never have sold the door so cheap."
Banksy pieces regularly sell for more than $500,000.
A mural painted on a shop in London in 2013 sold at a private auction for $1.1 million.
Banksy, who is from Bristol in the west of England, has never revealed his true identity.
'It has been my dream to own a piece of Banksy art'
Mr Darduna said he felt swindled and had been trying to call the man who bought the door but had got no reply.
"I want to get it back first, and then I can look at offers," he said, pointing out that his house had been destroyed in last year's war and he needed money for rent and his family.
"Next time I'll sell it as a Banksy painting, not as an old door."
The local man who bought it, graffiti artist and journalist Belal Khaled, said he had no plans to give the door back and no plans to sell it "at present".
"I bought the door to preserve the painting and protect it from being removed, spoiled or destroyed," he said.
Mr Khaled added that he had followed Banksy for a number of years and was inspired by his work.
"Since I started as a graffiti artist it has been my dream to own a piece of Banksy art."
Mr Khaled said he told Mr Darduna the painting on his door was by Banksy but it did not seem to register.
"I will consider offers to display it in international galleries to speak about the suffering of Gaza and the agonies of war," he said.
Gaza man sells bombed-out doorway adorned with Banksy painting for pittance - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
