A sculpture of an ostrich which once belonged to Horace Walpole in Twickenham has sold at auction for more than £1.8 million.
The bronze bird was bought for 15 times its estimated value at the Cheffins Fine Sale in Cambridge on Thursday, 23 April.
It went to a UK-based private buyer for £1,824,540, dwarfing the pre-sale estimate of £80,000 to £120,000, and setting a new house record for the auctioneers.
The ostrich sculpture was at one point owned by Horace Walpole, son of former British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole, and held in his collection at Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham.
It is believed to have been bought by Walpole between 1765 and 1766, having been created by Flemish sculptor Giambologna between the late 16th and early 17th century.