Antiquities for auction could be illicitly sourced, archaeologist claims

Etruscan bronze attachments in Sotheby's sale and and Bonhams' Sardinian lamp said to match items in convicted dealers' archives

The auction houses Sotheby's and Bonhams are facing a call to withdraw two antiquities from sale in London today from an archaeologist who raised serious suspicions" that the items came from illicit excavations.

Lot 68 in the Sotheby's sale is a pair of decorative Etruscan bronze attachments, dating from circa early fifth century BC, expected to fetch between 50,000 and 70,000. Lot 83 in the Bonhams sale is a Sardinian bronze boat-shaped lamp, circa eighth century BC, estimated between 2,000 and 3,000.