Bronze Laocoön sells for £13.6m at Sotheby's London Old Master auction

A full-size bronze replica of the Laocoön classical marble group, cast in 1817 by Auguste-Jean-Marie Carbonneaux, sold for £13.6m at Sotheby's London Old Master and 19th century paintings sale on Wednesday evening, nearly seven times its £2m low estimate. The sculpture, formerly owned by William Beckford and the 10th Duke of Hamilton, was one of only four such replicas ever cast. The price was the second-highest ever for a pre-Modern sculpture at auction. The preceding night, Christie's raised £38.9m from its Old Master sale, down from £55.3m last summer. Christie's top lot was Sir Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the 1st Duke of Wellington, which sold for £9.7m, a record for the artist. Two Jan van Huysum still lifes fetched £6.5m and £5.5m. Asian buyers generated 40% of Christie's sale value. Sotheby's total was £37.8m, with a Rembrandt painting sold for £8m and Edwin Landseer's 'Scene in Braemar—Highland Deer' for £5.9m. Private collectors dominated, with little trade bidding.