A sculpture by French artist Auguste Rodin that had disappeared from public view for almost 120 years and was thought to be a copy has sold for 860,000 euros ($984,000) at auction, CNN reports.

“Le Désespoir,” which shows a female figure sat on a rock holding one foot with her knee hugged to her chest, was rediscovered at the end of 2024 after last being sold in 1906, said auction house Rouillac in a statement. Rodin had made several versions of “Le Désespoir.” This particular sculpture was modeled in 1890 and sculpted from marble in 1892-93.

Measuring just 28.5 centimeters (11.2 inches) by 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) by 25 centimeters (9.8 inches), the sculpture was originally modeled to form part of Rodin’s monumental work “The Gates of Hell,” which features more than 200 figures and groups. The previous owners – a family from central France – had no idea of its value and had displayed the sculpture on top of a piano alongside family photos, auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac told CNN.

“They said ‘it’s a fake, it’s a copy,’” Rouillac said, but he decided to investigate further. Following his own initial investigation, Rouillac took the sculpture for assessment by the Comité Rodin, which maintains a catalogue of the artist’s work. Jérôme Le Blay, co-founder of the Comité Rodin, told CNN that he was immediately struck by the “exceptional” piece.

This particular example is “extremely well made,” said Le Blay, adding that it dates back to a period when Rodin was dedicating a huge amount of time to making a small number of sculptures. According to Le Blay, the sculpture dates to “one of the best moments of Rodin’s career.”