A new Leonardo da Vinci portrait may have been discovered after a fingerprint found on it seemed similar to another discovered on his work.

The work could date back to the late 15th Century.

A Paris laboratory found the fingerprint is "highly comparable" to one on a da Vinci work in the Vatican.

Antiques Trade Gazette reported that the work, previously catalogued as "German, early 19th century", could be worth tens of millions of dollars.

The work previously changed hands for around $19,000 (£12,039).

A forensic art expert found the fingerprint near the top left of the work, corresponding to the tip of the index or middle-finger.

It was "highly comparable" to a print on da Vinci’s St Jerome in the Vatican, which was painted early in the artist’s career when he was thought not to use assistants.

Infrared analysis showed "significant" stylistic parallels with da Vinci’s Portrait of a Woman in Profile, which hangs in Windsor Castle, the magazine reported.

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