A painting of Scots soldiers on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo is expected to fetch up to £6,000 when it is auctioned later this year.

Troops from a Highland Regiment round the Camp Fires, thought to be the work of Scottish artist James Howe (1780-1836), has been in a private collection since the 1970s.

It will be sold by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh in June, which marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Art expert Iain Gale said: "The painting was acquired by the present owner 40 years ago with the title Troops from a Highland Regiment round the Camp Fires.

"On further investigation the painting in fact illustrated a rather more significant moment in history. It is not difficult to see that this picture represented an actual scene much more specific than the merely generic subject of Scottish soldiers in their camp. This was nothing less than a previously unrecorded image of the eve of the Battle of Waterloo."