Tens of millions of years have passed since they roamed Earth, but two dinosaurs rampaged through a New York auction house last week, selling at near double the pre-sale estimates.
A giant Triceratops skull — 1.7m long and with eye sockets the size of dinner plates — sold at Bonhams’ Natural History auction for US$242,000.
A skull from an Alioramus remotus, cousin of the notoriously fierce T-Rex, went for US$206,000.
The skull, bristling with long teeth, was tiny compared to the gaping Triceratops head, but sold at a premium because of its rarity, said Bonhams’ spokeswoman Staci Smith.
The two skulls had been estimated to go for between US$120,000-US$125,000 and US$120,000-US$140,000 respectively.
Smith said typical buyers for pricey bones often include private collectors looking to spruce up their home decor.
“The Triceratops skull, it actually looks lovely. It looks like a sculpture,” Smith said.
There is a hitch, though.
“You’d have to have an extremely large living room.”
(AFP)
距離恐龍在地球上活動已超過數千萬年,但上週兩隻恐龍大鬧紐約一場拍賣會,以預估成交價近兩倍的價格賣出。
在「邦漢思自然歷史」拍賣會上,一塊長一百七十公分、有著餐盤大小眼窩的巨大三角龍頭骨以二十四萬兩千美元賣出。
另一塊阿利奧拉姆斯龍(以兇猛聞名的暴龍種的一支),頭骨則賣得二十萬六千美元。
邦漢思拍賣會女發言人史黛西.史密斯說,這個滿是利齒的阿利奧拉姆斯龍頭骨,尺寸雖然比那個張大嘴的三角龍頭骨小得多,但卻因為稀有而以高價成交。
兩具頭骨的估價原本分別為十二萬至十二萬五千美元,及十二萬至十四萬美元。
史密斯說,高價骨骸的典型買主通常是私人收藏家,他們想找這些裝飾品來美化居家裝潢。
史密斯說:「這塊三角龍的頭骨看起來真的很漂亮,就像是雕塑品一樣。」
不過,有一個小問題。
「你的客廳得很大才行。」(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
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