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Saatchi sells off kitchen sink

The works going under the hammer at Christie's in London include important pieces by the so-called Britpack generation - such as Damien Hirst's arrangement of pickled bits of cow.

In all 130 works of modern art - a fraction of Charles Saatchi's vast and extraordinary collection - is being sold off.

The former king of advertising will use the proceeds to fund bursaries for up and coming artists.

The works chosen for auction represent a cross section of established and emerging artists and prices will start from as little as £1,000.

In Tuesday's sale, Rachel Whiteread's plaster sculpture of the underside of a domestic sink - one of her best-known works - carries an estimate of £50,000.

Other artists whose pieces will go under the hammer include American photographer Cindy Sherman, while the German avant-garde is represented by Thomas Shutte's aluminium robotic figures Grosse Geister and Thomas Grunfeld's Misfits, which was created with the help of a professional taxidermist.

All the works come from London's Saatchi Gallery, which has become a leading showcase of contemporary art since its opening in 1985.

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