First fossil T. rex for auction in Asia at Christie’s Hong Kong autumn sales
- The fossil skeleton of the dinosaur, five metres high and 12 metres long, will be exhibited in Singapore and in Hong Kong, where it will be auctioned
- ‘Not a lot of homes of our collectors can fit this in,’ Francis Belin, president of Christie’s Asia-Pacific, says
The fossilised skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the most ferocious predators to ever roam the earth, will be auctioned in Asia for the first time on November 30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Fully mounted, this specimen – that is thought to have been alive 66-68 million years ago – was unearthed in the US state of Montana two years ago, and stands at nearly 5 metres (16.5 feet) tall and 12.2 metres long.
Christie’s, the auction house in charge of selling the fossil, will take it to Singapore’s Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall for a short exhibition from October 28-30, before transporting it to Hong Kong.
The specimen will then be on public view in the city from November 26-30, before being sold as part of its Hong Kong autumn auctions. Christie’s estimates it will sell for HK$120 million-200 million (US$15.3 million-25 million).
Francis Belin, president of Christie’s Asia-Pacific, said the decision to bring the fossilised T. rex to Hong Kong was in response to the growing appetite for fossils in the region, rather than because of the city’s recent abolition of hotel quarantine, which may bring more overseas visitors to its auctions in November.
