A 4,000-year-old Egyptian statue expected to raise about £6m sold for £15.76m ($27 Million) at Christie's in London on Thursday.

Northampton Borough Council in the UK auctioned the Sekhemka limestone statue to help fund an expansion of the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. The 30-inch statue was a gift to the town in 1880. 

Egyptian Ambassador Ahsraf Elkholy condemned the sale as "an abuse to the Egyptian archaeology and the cultural property". He said the statue should be returned to Egypt.