NEW YORK — A statuette featured in the 1941 movie "The Maltese Falcon" is being offered for sale at a New York City auction.

Bonhams says the black figurine is the highlight of a Nov. 25 auction. It did not provide a pre-sale estimate.

The statuette was the most important prop in the classic John Huston film, which starred Humphrey Bogart as a private eye. Bonhams says it's etched with a Warner Bros. inventory number and is the only version known to have appeared in the movie.

The auction house says it's the first time it has come to auction. The current owner has had the statuette for decades.

The figurine has been featured at the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.