Lucas Cranach the Elder's Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) has sold for a record £9.3m ($14.4m), an increase of 16.6% on an £8m ($12.3m) estimate.

The painting headlined Sotheby's Old Masters evening sale in London on July 8.

Lucas Cranach the Elder lived and worked in Germany

It smashed the previous record for a work by Cranach (1472-1553), set at $5.2m at Christie's in 2012.

The present lot references the legend of a mask of a river god embued with the power to tell truth from lies. The accused would place their hand in the mouth of the mask, aware that if they were dishonest they would lose their hand.

The painting displays a narrative of a husband testing his unfaithful wife.

It dates to the early 16th century (circa 1525-1530) and would have been executed in the artist's studio in Nuremburg.

A portrait by Ferdinand Bol (1660-1680), believed to depict his son, made £5.1m ($8m) against a valuation of £3m ($4.6m) - an increase of 70%.

Bol was a renowned Dutch artist  who was heavily influenced by Rembrandt. Few of his paintings have survived to the present day.

Interesting enough, he is one of very few old masters to have a chain of fast food restaurants named after him (Dutch chain FEBO takes its name from the initials Ferdinand Bolstraat).

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