A controversial sale of pre-Columbian art went ahead in Paris on Wednesday despite calls from Mexico and UNESCO for it to be halted. The Mexican government filed a formal complaint against the auction of 120 religious and cultural artefacts from several private collections, including sacred jewellery worn by a shaman and the figurine of a fertility goddess.

Mexico's ambassador to France Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo said they had also pressured the French authorities to intervene, with UNESCO confirming to AFP that it had also urged auctioneers Millon to postpone the sale. Gomez Robledo had called a press conference to question the provenance of the pieces, warning some "could turn out to be imitations".

But Millon went ahead and defended the collectors' right to put the objects up for auction.

Last week it agreed to withdraw a pre-Hispanic artefact from neighbouring Guatemala from the sale.

Millon said the core of the auction was "part of the last French collections (of Pre-Columbian art) put together in the postwar period.

"It is remarkable in terms of its origin and prestige", adding that some of the pieces had featured in major exhibitions and in "indispensable works on Pre-Columbian art".

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019