London - Three rediscovered drawings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) which were lost for more than 130 years have been sold at auction in London for 4.01 million pounds (7.90 million dollars), auctioneers Christie's said Tuesday.

The whereabouts of the drawings, discovered in a private Swiss collection, had been unknown since a landmark auction in Paris in 1877, where 105 drawings from Goya's private albums were sold.

The creations are entitled Bajar Rinendo (Down They Come), The Constable Lampinos Stitched Inside A Dead Horse and Repentance, which is said to prefigure Edvard Munch's famous Scream.

They had been expected to fetch a maximum of 2 million pounds in total. Christie's said the 2.28 million pounds realized for Down They Come represented a world record price at auction for a work on paper by the artist.

Christie's said there had been "bidding from around the world" for the drawings which showed the "inexhaustible fertility of Goya's imagination, and the creativity and flair that see him recognized as arguably the first modern artist." (dpa)