The castle of Dampierre-en-Yvelines is preparing to experience a unique event: the auction of Vulcan, a 150 million year old specimen of Apatosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever offered for sale. Scheduled for this Saturday, November 16, 2024, this exceptional auction promises to exceed its estimate, set between 3 and 5 million euros. You still have until November 15 to admire it before it leaves for its buyer.
We told you, it’s already been 4 months since this dinosaur exceptional is to be discovered in the orangery of Dampierre Castle in the Yvelines. This atypical exhibition is coming to an end as it will be sold at auction this Saturday November 16, 2024.
Still visible until Friday November 15, the skeleton of Vulcain impresses with its dimensions: with a length of 20.50 meters and a height of 4 metersthis herbivorous giant is distinguished by the excellent preservation of its skeleton, composed of more than 80% ofnative fossilized bones.
Discovered in 2018 in Wyoming in the United States, it required three years of careful excavations before arriving in France, where it has been on display since this summer at the Dampierre estate, owned by entrepreneur Franky Mulliez. This public presentation, which attracts a large audience, allows everyone to admire this Jurassic vestige before its probable departure to a new private home.
The global craze for dinosaur fossils has continued to grow for several years. The auction record is currently held by a stegosaurus nicknamed Apex, sold at Sotheby’s in July 2024 for $44.6 milliondespite an initial estimate of $4 million to $6 million. This record price follows a series of spectacular sales, starting with the famous T-Rex “Sue”, sold in 1997 for 8.4 million dollars, or “Stan”, another T-Rex which reached 31.8 million dollars in 2020. These amounts reveal a booming market, now well established in the United States and which is gradually expanding to Europe, despite hesitant beginnings.
Vulcainestimated between 3 and 5 million euros by the Collin du Bocage and Barbarossa auction houses, could well exceed these forecasts, given its exceptional state of conservation. According to Eric Mickelerrenowned expert in paleontology and former consultant for Sotheby’s, the characteristics of this apatosaurus make it a rare piece. “Vulcan is extremely complete, with more than 306 original bones, or approximately 80 to 85% of its skeleton, as well as half of its skull, a remarkable fact since skull bones rarely fossilize,” explains he.
Natural history enthusiasts still have the opportunity to observe Vulcain before its sale. The exhibition remains open until Friday November 15, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the rate of 10 euros for adults, with free admission for accompanied under-18s. The auction will begin the next day, from 4 p.m., in the magnificent rooms of the Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines.
More than just a skeleton, Vulcan embodies a bygone era when gigantic creatures populated the Earth, and its auction represents a rare opportunity to preserve a fragment of that history. Information and reservations for the exhibition on the official website of the Domaine de Dampierre.
The largest dinosaurs settle at the Château de Dampierre this summer, returning to the Jurassic
Notice to dinosaur fans and budding paleontologists, the Jurassic is coming to the Château de Dampierre from July 13 to November 3, 2024. Indeed, Vaucain, the largest dinosaur ever sold at auction in the world, is taking up summer quarters within the castle’s Orangery. [Lire la suite]
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