German socialite Angela Gulbenkian agreed to sell the 81-kilogram pumpkin, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, to Hong Kong art collector Mathieu Ticolat.

However, the sculpture never arrived in Hong Kong – because Ms Gulbenkian had no right to sell it, The Times reports.

She used her surname, which she shares with a prestigious art museum in Lisbon, to convince buyers that she had links to the art world.

Ms Gulbenkian now faces a trial in Germany over the missing sculpture, as well as a separate trial over the sale of a portrait.