One of Renaissance master Raphael's greatest drawings still in private hands soared to £29,721,250 ($47,869,045) on Wednesday at a Sotheby's sale in London.

Nearly doubling its low estimate of about $24 million, the drawing reached a record for a work on paper. It followed the trend of iconic examples by top-name artists bringing premium prices at auction while mid-range works have passed.

The 16th century "Head of an Apostle" is a 15-by-11 inch chalk study for the artist's last painting, "Transfiguration," in the collection of the Vatican Museum in Italy.

When Raphael died in 1520, his body was laid out in state in his studio with the Transfiguration hanging at his head.

Provenance was listed as Chatsworth, the ancestral home of the 12th Duke of Devonshire who is also deputy chairman of Sotheby's.

Four bidders battled for 17 minutes until it went to the phones, with a Sotheby's rep who is known to handle Russian clients winning the lot.

The Apostle drawing narrowly beat out the previous record price for a Raphael (given the British pound sale price). His "Head of a Muse" sold to financier Leon Black for £29,161,250 million pounds (then reportedly $47,941,095) at Christie's in London three years ago.

Ranking as the highest price paid for a lot sold at auction in Europe this year, it was also the second highest sum attained for any Old Master after Rubens.

Sotheby's Old Master sale fetched a total of 58.1 million pounds with fees from 51 lots, with 74.5 percent selling. Christie's had a harder time the night before with 54 lots that raised 11.6 million pounds with fees, and 46 percent of lots passing.