A Milford woman's father salvaged a painting from a Yale University dumpster around 20 years ago, and now she says she found out it's worth thousands of dollars.

Cheryl Conroy Warren says that she learned from an appraiser for "Antiques Roadshow" the item is an original work by Chinese artist Zao Wou-Ki.

"I didn't know what it was," she says. "And I said, one of these days, I was going to either work at finding out what it was, or I was going to hire someone."

It turns out it's worth an estimated $10,000 to $15,000. The appraiser identified the piece as "Flora and Fauna," No. 190 of the 200 the artist made. Some of his works have sold for almost $20 million.

"Whoever it was that threw it in the dumpster clearly didn't know what it is," Warren says.

Warren says her father, Arnold Conroy, had a habit of picking up items from job sites while he worked construction. He died in 2015.

Warren says she plans to sell the piece and give the money to her mother.