The Chapmans' 'mutilated children' could fetch �15,000

Stripped, by the artist Marc Quinn, was made by pouring liquid polyurethane over the head of his body cast and could also be worth between �25,000 and �35,000, while his Origin of Species is estimated at between �35,000 - �45,000.

The Chapman brothers' glass fibre sculpture of mutated children which also appeared in the recent Sensation exhibition in London, may fetch up to �15,000.

Both pieces are expected to go on sale on Friday.

Other works of art by the new generation of British artists include Open Door by Anthony Gormley.

He is best remembered for his monumental Angel of the North statue in Gateshead in the North of England.

Open Door is a cast figure with references to the crucifixion and is estimated at �8,000 - �10,000.

High price for modern art

Back in April 1998, Christie's put on show an untitled piece by the artist Felix Gonzales-Torres. The piece was a 10-foot strip of green-wrapped sweets laid on the floor and had an estimated price of �55-65,000.

In June 1995 a painting by Yves Klein called La Grande Bataille, fetched �947,500 at Christie's. It was created by the artist smearing the bodies of nude women with paint and dragging them across the blank canvas.

In the same month at Sotheby's, an anonymous buyer paid around �35,000 for Robert Gober's metal plughole.

The high prices of these works of art are a sign of how much the recent British art movement has gained in both critical and commercial viability. But will it last ?

Fernando Mignoni, specialist in contemporary art at Christie's auction house said:

"It seems to me that these artists have quite a lot of talent and are very innovative and it wouldn't surprise me if we were still talking about them in twenty years time."