A bronze sculpture from his garden that a Cleveland man almost let an antique dealer take for $3,000 a few years ago has sold at auction for $118,000.

The 4-foot tall sculpture of a woman carrying a water vessel on her head was in the yard when the man bought his house on the city's west side 40 years ago. Research determined that the piece was created in 1931 by Egyptian sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar, whose works are the subject of an entire museum in Cairo.

Kelly Grimm of the Cleveland Auction Co. says only the sculpture itself knows how wound up in the garden.

The auction house sold it Oct. 25 for $100,000, plus an $18,000 auctioneer's commission. The seller and buyer asked to remain anonymous.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com