Another Banksy stunt not expected

PARIS: The first auction house to sell prints by Banksy since the wellreported auction two weeks ago does not anticipate another stunt like the one that shredded half a picture moments after the hammer fell. But, hey, if something were to happen? Great!

‘‘Are we expecting it? Not really. Perhaps we are hoping for it,’’ said auctioneer Arnaud Oliveux of Artcurial auction house in Paris, which is selling three Banksy prints next week.

‘‘I would love it if something happens.’’ The British artist has done more to cultivate his mystique in the two weeks since a print of one of his bestknown works, Girl With a Balloon, slid halfway through a shredder in its frame moments after it was sold in London.

Banksy released a new video this week that suggested the partial destruction was a malfunction: it showed an identical print in the same frame being entirely shredded, with the caption ‘‘in rehearsals it worked every time’’.