One of the last great Renaissance terracotta sculptures remaining in private hands has fetched an auction record of �3.3m at Sotheby's in London.

The 2ft-high Virgin and Child by the Italian sculptor Briosco, usually known as Riccio, had been expected to fetch between �1.8m and �2.5m, but it fetched the highest price reached for a Riccio.

The piece, which dates from between 1520 and 1525, was bought by a private European collector.

Virgin and Child has been exhibited only three times since its discovery

Virgin and Child was found by an art dealer in Riccio's home city of Padua a century ago.

The piece has been exhibited only three times since its discovery, and the last time was in London's Victoria and Albert museum this year.

Renowned for his sculpture in bronze, Riccio is responsible for very few terracotta sculptures that have survived, making the Virgin and Child exceptionally rare.

Supreme quality

A 16th-Century limewood relief of the Holy family exhibited in the 1991 Louvre exhibition, Sculptures allemandes de la fin du Moyen Age, was also included in the auction.

It sold for �160,650.

The relief is attributed to an important school of wood sculptures concentrated around the area of Passau and Salzburg between 1520 and 1530, called the circle of the Master IP.

Elizabeth Wilson, of Sotheby's, said: "We were pleased with the sale, which saw strong bidding in a busy saleroom and on the telephones, for exceptionally rare and important European works of art of supreme quality.

"The highlight among these was a terracotta group by Andrea Briosco which set an auction record for a sculpture by the artist.

"Medieval wood sculpture saw more selective bidding, which demonstrated the current demand for the finest works."