TOKYO, Nov. 4, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- Two pictures resembling drawings by artist Yoshitomo Nara were sold for a total of about 700,000 yen on an online auction site in late October after a note to the seller from the artist that the works were bogus went unheeded.

The two pieces, each depicting a girl with a piercing look that is characteristic of Nara's work, were both tagged ''Watercolor? Yoshitomo Nara? Large? Masterpiece?'' and put up for auction on Oct. 23 on Yahoo! Japan's (OOTC:YAHOY) Internet auction site.

The seller noted that the items came from his deceased grandfather's house. ''Since I am not a professional, I do not know their authenticity and value.''

Nara said that he requested the seller via the auction site to add a note to the lot description stating that the artist himself has advised that the works were not his. Nara said his request did not receive a response.

The seller said because the request could not be confirmed as coming from the artist, a note was added to the effect that the works were not verified to be Yoshitomo Nara's because they had not been appraised.

One of the drawings was sold for some 460,000 yen and the other for about 210,000 yen when bidding closed on Oct. 27 and 28. The amounts are about one-fifth to one-tenth of what similar works by Nara command.

Experts said that since the items had not been appraised, this may have raised expectations among bidders that the items could potentially be bargains if they turn out to be authentic.

Yahoo Japan Corp., which hosts the auction site, said the latest case does not violate its auction guidelines as the person did not claim the works are Nara's, but added, ''We would like to make it a practice to contact the sellers if artists themselves make such requests to us.''