The 12 x 13in (32 x 33cm) white and black chalk drawing, showing the top head and shoulders, is a compositional study for the sleeping figure of a knight seen in the final version of The Prince Enters the Briar Wood (1870-90).
Part of the four-panel Briar Rose series, it was shown at the Tate’s acclaimed exhibition on the painter that closed recently in London.
The drawing was secured by a trade buyer at £8000, four times the top guide.
The remainder of the group, containing nine studies relating to finished works, were secured by separate private buyers for a combined total of around £50,000 at the New Bond Street sale on February 20.
Emma Gordon, Bonhams’ 19th century picture specialist, said the “timely offering” had all been donated to the charitable trust by a private collector, and presented “a wonderful opportunity to own a Burne-Jones work for a fraction of the price of his finished works”.
