Saber-tooth cat skeletons may scratch up $250,000
A pair of fully articulated Dinictis feline (saber-toothed cat) skeletons is expected to fetch between $200,000 to $250,000 and make a run for top lot in I.M Chait’s July 26 auction.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Many of the world’s natural history collections contain prized specimens that previously passed through the doors of I.M. Chait’s Beverly Hills auction gallery. Twice a year, the company conducts a sale of fossils, minerals, gemstones and prehistoric animal skeletons.
Chait’s next natural history auction, slated for Saturday, July 26, 2014, features select
pieces, including minerals, spheres and other lapidary works; plus fossils that include a complete dinosaur head, ammonites and a large amethyst geode mounted as a table.
The star of the show is a display of two fully articulated Dinictis feline (saber-toothed cats), locked in mortal combat. The two skeletons were recovered in 1998 and 1999 from separate private ranches in South Dakota’s White River Badlands regions. The skeletons are in outstanding condition; by bone count, they are 50-60 percent and 70-80 percent complete, respectively. As top lot of the sale, the three-dimensional depiction of a prehistoric catfight is expected to earn $200,000 to $250,000.
The natural history auction is taking place at the Chait gallery (9330 Civic Center Dr., Beverly Hills, California) July 26, 2014, commencing at 1 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Eastern). Online bidding is being facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. For more details, contact 800-775-5020 or 310-285-0182; or jake@chait.com, or visit www.chait.com.
