AN Old Master drawing discovered on the wall of a Somerset bungalow has sold for £16,000.

The artwork attributed to Giovanni Francesco Barbieri - known as Guercino (1591-1666) - was snapped up at auction by a French buyer

It is now off to Paris following a two-day sale by auctioneers Charterhouse this month.

Auctioneer Richard Bromell said: "Bidding across all sections was frenetic despite the lockdown and a global pandemic.

"We initially thought the small Old Master drawing could sell for a thousand or two, but there was plenty of pre-sale interest with both online and telephone bidders.

"Towards the end of the bidding, it was a two-way battle between two French buyers and it eventually sold for £16,000 to a bidder in Paris."

The small drawing measures 23cm by 34cm and features a figure fishing near dwellings and a bridge.

Although the drawing was badly 'foxed' (deteriorated), it did not put off bidders.