Montana, USA

With its three-horned head, the triceratops is one of the most famous species of dinosaur. They lived at the very end of the Cretaceous Period before the fatal mass-extinction triggered by the asteroid that caused the Chicxulub crater 65 million years ago.

These herbivores could grow up to 9 metres long, and weigh as much as 12 tonnes, roaming in a region that is now east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. In the Cretaceous period this habitat would have been characterised by dense fauna, marshland and shallow seas, which provided plentiful nourishment for any herbivore. The diet of Triceratops, as evidenced by its toothless beak, primarily comprised of palm fronds. The horns were therefore not to hunt prey, but to protect itself from apex predators such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Although the lumbering bulk still left it exposed to an unexpected attack, a single strike from a brow horn could potentially gore a predator in the neck or heart, fatally wounding it.

The present Lot offers a rare opportunity to acquire a quintessential relic of the last years of the Age of Dinosaurs. With its impressive dimensions and momentous display, this sculptural horn instantly evokes the overwhelming size and domineering presence of the Triceratops, catapulting the prehistoric beast into the present.