One of the Thinker sculptures by French master Auguste Rodin has been sold at auction for more than 3 million euros ($5.2 million) in Paris, Reuters reports.

The bronze, just 72.5 centimetres high, set a record for any of the Thinkers - a series of 21 sculptures made by Rodin in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

One of the most famous sculptures in the world, the Thinker represents a naked man sitting on a rock looking downwards, with his elbow on his knee and his chin resting on his hand.

Last Monday at Drouot, Paris main auction room, a piece of Eiffel tower staircase was sold for 80,500 euros ($105,000). It’s 3 meters and a half high, 20-step section, 1 meter 70 cm round, and weights over 700 kilos.

It’s a piece of a staircase leading from second to third floor, which was cut in twenty four pieces and sold in auction in 1983.

The original 1911-step staircase leading up the tower was removed so that elevators could be installed. Gustave Eiffel himself climbed the staircase in the 1889 inaugural ceremony.