A copy of Robert Mapplethorpe's X Portfolio led a sale of erotica at Auctionata in Paris on August 27, achieving $21,250.

The highly explicit collection dates to 1978 and originates in New York's burgeoning gay fetish scene.

Mapplethorpe was active in the fetish world

Auctionata explains: "Depicting a world in which he was an active participant, 'X' by Robert Mapplethorpe pushes the boundaries of modernity and sexuality�Ǫ

"His solo exhibition, 'Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment' upset members of the U.S. Congress with the homoerotic and sadomasochistic themes, bringing into question public funding for the arts which has persisted to this day.

"The technical beauty and finesse of these images from a photographer once considered the enfant terrible of the museum world is unquestionable."

Peter Saul's Untitled (Watches) made $16,250.

Saul is an influential pop artist who began to incorporate cartoon imagery into his works in the 1950s.

The auction house comments: "This wonderful, oozy Peter Saul painting of the surrealist subject of melting watches speaks to the artist's issue of time - its restrictions, but also the ability of sex to stop time. The watches dissolve into a luscious puddle of pink paint."

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