Sotheby`s auctions ancient sculpture for $57 mln

The Guennol Lioness is a 3.25-inch (8.3-cm) tall white limestone figure created 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia -- the cradle of civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers mostly in modern Iraq and Iran.

The sculpture is considered one f the last known masterworks from its era in private hands, the auction house told Reuters.

The buyer's identity was not revealed.