Hirst Pharmacy lots not original

The sale raised £8m more than expected

An auction house has denied buyers who bought lots from the sale of items from Damien Hirst's Pharmacy restaurant in west London were misled.

The auction raised £11.1m when fixtures and fittings from the artist's restaurant were sold at Sotheby's.

But some of the lots, including glasses and ashtrays, were manufactured this year - one year after Pharmacy closed.

A spokeswoman for Sotheby's said all the lots were "clearly marked" in the auction catalogue.

People were buying a piece of artwork by Damien Hirst and I think that was the most important factor here Sotheby's spokeswoman

The catalogue stated that a set of five glass ashtrays - which were estimated at £100-£150 but sold for £1,920 - were "executed in 2004, after the original design of 1997-1998".

A pair of Martini glasses inscribed with Hirst's signature, were also made in 2004, and sold for £4,800.

A Sotheby's spokeswoman admitted some of the lots had been specially made for the auction.

She said: "A lot of the things in the sale were in the original restaurant, some were modified and some were made for the sale.

"It was made very clear in the catalogue what was in the restaurant and what was not.

"People were buying a piece of artwork by Damien Hirst and I think that was the most important factor here, not whether it had been in the restaurant."

Pharmacy opened its doors on New Year's Eve 1997 and was briefly one of London's most fashionable restaurants.

But it fell into financial difficulties and closed its doors last year.