But like many works by Banksy, an expert in attracting publicity while seeming not to court it, the work provided a commentary on its location, making a sharp point about sweatshop labor, the Queen’s diamond jubilee and possibly the outburst of patriotism surrounding the London Olympics. In any case, it seemed to fit right in.

Part of the residents’ problem now is that they do not know who possesses the work, so they do not know whom to yell at to get it back. Legal opinion generally holds that Banksy’s street art belongs not to him, but to whoever owns the walls he uses as canvases. That adds a further complication, because the wall in question is not owned by Poundland, but by the company it leases the space from, Wood Green Investments, and the company is not talking.

“If it wasn’t them, then somebody else did it, but my clients have not reported any theft to the police,” said Matthew Dillon, a lawyer for the company.

He acknowledged in an earlier interview that those clients are now in a fix. “If they deny removing the mural they will become embroiled in an international criminal investigation,” he told The Financial Times, “and if they admit to consenting to it, then they will become the target of abuse.” He added, “The advice to my client has been to say nothing.”

Startled by the outpouring of vitriol directed against it, the auction house in Miami is not talking, either, except to note that the work “is now back with the consignor,” whoever that is.

Image The mural was taken from the borough of Haringey. Credit... The New York Times

“I don’t have any comment,” Cornelia van der Geest, the business manager of Fine Art Auctions Miami, said in an interview. She said the firm had received hundreds of complaints about the auction, some of them not very nice.