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Rat Black Sperm - Signed Print by Tracey Emin 2009 - MyArtBroker

Rat Black Sperm
Signed Print

Tracey Emin

£550-£850Value Indicator

$1,100-$1,700 Value Indicator

$1,000-$1,500 Value Indicator

¥5,000-¥8,000 Value Indicator

650-1,000 Value Indicator

$5,500-$8,500 Value Indicator

¥110,000-¥160,000 Value Indicator

$700-$1,050 Value Indicator

17% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) 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: Etching

Edition size: 100

Year: 2009

Size: H 42cm x W 52cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

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Track auction value trend

The value of Tracey Emin’s Rat Black Sperm (signed) is estimated to be worth between £550 and £850. This etching print from 2009 has shown consistent value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 17%. This is a rare artwork with an auction history of three total sales since its entry to the market in April 2019. The hammer price over the past 12 months has ranged from £400 in December 2020 to £600 in October 2024. The average return to the seller is £425 and the edition size of this artwork is limited to 100.

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Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseLocation
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
October 2024Tennants Auctioneers United Kingdom
December 2020Forum Auctions London United Kingdom
April 2019Tate Ward Auctions United Kingdom

Meaning & Analysis

Diaristic and insightful, the work of Emin has always offered viewers a look into her often weird and wonderful imagination. Emin has proclaimed herself to be a spiritually-guided individual, and this is something captured in Rat Black Sperm.

The text, which is naively misspelt and written backwards at times, tells the story of a nightmare Emin had. The nightmare she represents in this etching pictures a nude woman - likely Emin herself - being attacked by three so-called ‘rat black sperms’. According to her prose, these ‘giant’ sperms ‘looked just like you’. This direct address is clearly directed to Emin’s lover at the time of the works creation, making the work an even deeper glimpse into her life.

  • Tracey Emin, born in 1963, stands as a fearless provocateur in the contemporary art scene. A trailblazer of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late 1980s, the artist has sparked conversation and controversy for decades. Confronting themes of love, trauma and femininity with great vulnerability, Emin's work is a visceral tapestry of her life and has forged an intimate dialogue between artist and audience. In 1999, this raw approach to storytelling won her a nomination to the Turner Prize and, in 2007, it got her a coveted spot as a Royal Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA).