The latest Mandela artwork, made up of the handprints of 67 famous people, was auctioned for charity in former president Nelson Mandela's honour ahead of his 93rd birthday.

The canvas was purchased in a hotly contested auction by British American Tobacco.

The handprints belong to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Fifa president Sepp Blatter, Bafana Bafana midfielder Steven Pienaar, Monaco's Prince Albert, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, actor Morgan Freeman and former minister Kader Asmal, who died last month, among others.

According to auctioneer and Auction Alliance chief executive Rael Levitt, who has sold Mandela memorabilia for almost 20 years, "there is renewed global interest in any items associated with Madiba and this latest sale, a record, is simply an indication that the values of any items connected to Mandela are soaring and are becoming highly valuable assets."

The five-by-four-metre canvas was embellished with bead work by crafters from Khayelitsha in Cape Town.