Inspired by Stan, one of the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons on display at the opening of Abu Dhabi's Natural History Museum? Then the prime gift for those in the UAE or around the world who have everything might just be their own £5 million ($6.6 million) dinosaur.
Christies is offering just such an opportunity through its London salesroom when Spike, an exceptionally preserved Caenagnathid dinosaur, goes on sale next month. With rising global interest in the fossilised world, it has put a price tag estimate of £3m-£5m on the sale.
For those in London the run-up will see an exhibition of the dinosaur that features a VR experience giving every angle of the specimen that's open to the public from December 6 to December 11.
James Hyslop, Christie's head of department, science and natural history, is the man who sold Stan and is now thrilled to offer Spike to an audience in the British capital that stretches beyond the experts gallery and sales room.
“There will always be people who want to see Spike in person, and we have dedicated space at the warehouse for people between now and the public viewing from the scientific community to come study the bones in person,” he says, pointing out that the artefact is also viewable as part of a Christie's App.
“I think a lot of people get a really good sense of the Spike from the virtual reality experience, and then they can decide if they do need to come see in person or if they can just work from what they've seen.
“You can get right up close to Spike.”
The Caenagnathid Oviraptorosaur was unearthed in the midwestern American state of South Dakota during excavation in the Hell Creek Formation. It dates from the Maastrichtian age, 80 to 66 million years ago.
What is so exciting about Spike is that it's a “remarkably preserved specimen” of a Caenagnathid Oviraptorosaur with representation of all four key skeletal regions, jaws, hands, pelvis, and feet.
The team says there were approximately 100 fossil bone elements recovered, which with additional casts and 3D printed components allows it to be viewed in its natural form.
Mr Hyslop tells The National that the gap between the millions of years since the dinosaurs roamed the earth and far more recent 19th century discoveries is the reason why the prehistoric beasts have “absolutely fascinated” the public and museum curatorial imagination.
“Right now there's definitely renewed interest as there should be because these things are spectacular,” he says, adding there is a quality beyond the purely physical form.
“There is something about being stood face to face with a fossil that is spine-tingling,” he says. “We all grow up as kids fascinated by dinosaurs.
“When you first start thinking about one of these projects, you have a sense of what it's going to be like – personality is a lovely word for it,” he says. “It's that moment you first stand in front of them.
“Maybe we shouldn't call it personality for a dinosaur but there's definitely a presence.
“Suddenly all these possibilities open up.”
That in part explains Christie's push to bring technology into the experience. “I have always wanted to have a digital presence for these dinosaurs, either in the hologram boxes that we have at front of house of our locations or with an App with the pictures,” he adds. “I can now point to it without fear of damaging it.”
With the ability to manipulate the image through 360 degrees comes minor magic powers. Compare that to the challenge of moving a magnificent but fragile and extremely valuable skeleton.
So what then of the art of owning a dinosaur, if one had the resources to compete for Spike. “A real fossil that sends you back in time,” explains Mr Hyslop.
“Certainly the first time it's spine tingling – they are monsters. Spike was real, it was feathered, it had flesh and while it is great reading about these in books, when you stand face to face with the skeletal, fossilised remains, that becomes very real very quickly.
“There is almost something fundamental to human nature about being fascinated by this deep ancient past.”
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi opened its doors in the Saadiyat Cultural District last week and one of its centrepiece is Stan, a dinosaur found in America and sold through the auction house. The skeleton of Stan stands at 11.7-metre-tall and is recognised as one of the best-preserved and most-studied Tyrannosaurus rex fossils of the late Cretaceous period.
Rare as Spike is in the recovery of fossils, its biography cannot be easily guessed from the bones. What we do know is Spike died you and leaves the rest to the imagination.
“There's no obvious pathology on it because it was a sub-adult specimen as well, so we don't see any broken and healed bones,” says Mr Hyslop. “Alas, one of the things that's been lost to the subsequent 66 million years is that Spike's death will always remain an unsolved case.”
The Groundbreakers: Icons of Our Time auction on December 11 offers a fitting theme for the auction a beast that was seemingly built for speed.
