Two murals by street artist Banksy pulled from Miami auction

Two spray-paint murals by the elusive street artist Banksy, including one that vanished last week from a North London wall, have been pulled at the 11th hour from a Miami auction.

The owner of the London mural remains a mystery, as does how it ended up in a Miami auction house after going missing.

Frederic Thut, owner of Fine Art Auctions Miami, which had been due to sell the piece, said his firm did "all necessary due diligence" to establish the ownership of the work. But the London piece and another Banksy mural were still pulled.

"Although there are no legal issues whatsoever regarding the sale of lots 6 and 7 by Banksy, Fine Art Auctions Miami convinced its consignors to withdraw these lots from the auction and take back the power of authority of these works," Thut wrote in an email. They had been due to be auctioned on Saturday.

The work at the centre of the controversy was painted on a building occupied by Poundland Stores, a British retailer that sells various items for only a pound. The work, titled Banksy: Slave Labour, shows a young boy kneeling at a sewing machine with Union flag bunting.

The mural appeared in 2012 during Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrating her 60th year on the throne. The Poundland chain was a focal point of controversy in 2010 because of allegations it sold goods made by Indian children as young as seven.

The Miami auction house declined to say who owns the mural, valued between US$500,000 and US$700,000. Banksy's works offering ironic social commentary are never verified, but are hotly sought after by collectors.

Poundland was only a tenant of the property, and has condemned the removal.

Also pulled from the auction was a piece titled Wet Dog, valued between US$600,000 and US$800,000.