French authorities have agreed to a request from Jewish artist Anish Kapoor not to clean off the antisemitic graffiti daubed on his giant sculpture at the Palace of Versailles.

Dubbed the “queen’s vagina,” the controversial steel funnel and the rocks around it were sprayed with phrases such as “SS blood sacrifice” and “the second RAPE of the nation by DEVIANT JEWISH activism” over the weekend.

Mr Kapoor said that he wanted the graffiti to remain to bear witness to hatred. France’s culture ministry agreed and said panels next to the work would explain what happened. The sculpture, which is officially known as “Dirty Corner,” had been attacked in June and then cleaned.