Julien's Auctions said the handprints were tests created by Bryant when he became the first athlete to leave his prints in the forecourt of the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in 2011.

The item, which had been expected to sell for between $4,000 (£3,300/€3,700) and $6,000 (£4,900/€5,500), was among those sold as part of an auction that Julien's Auctions said was already planned before the death of the double Olympic gold medallist at the age of only 41 in January.

A full Los Angeles Lakers uniform worn by Bryant during the 1999-2000 National Basketball Association (NBA) finals also sold for considerably higher than its original estimate, fetching a sum of $43,750 (£35,900/€40,000).

Another game-worn jersey from the 2006-2007 campaign sold for $22,400 (£18,400/€20,500).

Bryant, who won five NBA titles in a 20-year career with the Lakers, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in California on January 26. 

Blunt force trauma has been ruled as the official cause of death for the nine people on board the helicopter.