A second version of John Constable's The Lock has sold for £9.9m ($13.6m) at Sotheby's London.

The lot starred in a December 9 sale of old master paintings.

Constable's The Lock depicts his native Suffolk

Constable painted a second copy of the work, considered one of his masterpieces, so that he would always have one to send out for exhibitions.

The original holds the record for Constable's work at auction. It made £22.4m ($33.8m) at Christie's in 2012.

Alex Bell, co-chairman of Sotheby's old master paintings department, comments: "The Lock belongs to a small group of pictures that define Constable's oeuvre and genius.

"The artist's absolute mastery as a landscape painter is everywhere in the picture and this was reflected in the result achieved tonight.

"The painting was one of many museum-quality works presented in the sale, an unprecedented proportion of which were from private collections and came to the market for the first time in several generations.

"The combination of quality and freshness to the market are key in this field and certainly account for this evening's strong results."

Other lots in the sale included Jan Gossaert's The Virgin and Child, which sold for £4.6m ($6.9m).

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