The classification committee of the Film and Publications Board made its ruling on artist Brett Murray's painting last month .The board also ruled that its classification committee had the necessary jurisdiction to classify the painting, even though it had since been defaced.

"It is against both these decisions that Goodman Gallery has noted its appeal to the appeal tribunal," Koseff said.

The grounds for appealing the classification include that the committee "failed to give adequate consideration to the fact that The Spear is a bona fide work of artistic merit by a bona fide artist, and is a work of political satire".

The gallery argued that the committee had not given sufficient regard to the artist's constitutionally protected right to expression.

Nor did it take into account that the image was published largely on the internet, and the guidelines on classification do not deal with the problems of classifying online publication, Koseff said.

The committee "in any event erred in concluding that a 16N classification was appropriate", she said.

The painting depicts President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed.

At the time of the ruling, the publications board's CEO Yoliswa Makhasi said it understood that the image of the painting had gone viral, but urged youths under the age of 16 to delete copies of it.

City Press, which originally published the picture in its newspaper and on its website, also has the right to appeal to the board's appeal tribunal.