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THBRare Fossilized Cave Hyena Skull - Choice!
Lot 4
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$32,000 - $48,000
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Jul 13, 2021
Set Reminder
2021-07-13 12:00:00
2021-07-13 12:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Fauna, Flora, Stones & Bones
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fauna-flora-stones-bones-7214
Join us for a very special summer auction featuring fabulous fossils, rocks, and minerals, plus art depicting flora and fauna from antiquity to present day. This is one you won't want to miss! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Join us for a very special summer auction featuring fabulous fossils, rocks, and minerals, plus art depicting flora and fauna from antiquity to present day. This is one you won't want to miss! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (134)
- Lot Description
Central Asia, Eastern Kazakhstan, Altai Mountains, Pleistocene epoch, ca. 2 Million to 10,000 years ago. A fascinating fossilized skull from the extinct cave hyena, also known as the Ice Age spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea). This skull has been shockingly preserved to near perfection - due to the location in which it was found - protected within a cave from the elements. It is displayed to show off the teeth within the incredibly powerful jaws - these animals ate everything from reindeer and horses to woolly rhinos, accumulating their bones and horns in their cave dens. In Siberia, there is evidence they also ate cave bears! Note the heavy nature of the skull, reinforced for the hyena's rough life of hunting animals larger than itself and contending with neighboring predators - notably wolves. Although their DNA is not significantly different from modern hyenas, cave hyenas were considerably larger than their modern ancestor. The fossilization process has left the bones a rich brown umber color, and the teeth are a pretty black and mottled brown. This is a very rare specimen due to its near perfect condition. It is not common to come across such an amazing fossilized hyena skull! Size: 13.5" L x 8" W (34.3 cm x 20.3 cm); 10" H (25.4 cm) on included custom stand.
These cave hyenas were subspecies the spotted hyena, which is the only modern living member of the Crocuta family. Cave hyenas, also known as the Ice Age Spotted Hyena, were encountered by prehistoric humans and depicted them in cave art, including the Chauvet Cave and Lascaux. Archaeologists also found an atlatl weight carved of mammoth ivory in the form of a crouched hyena, perhaps meant to depict the animal stalking its prey, in the La Madeleine rock shelter, dating ca. 12000-17000 years old. This species once ranged from Iberian Peninsula to Russia. This hyena was a highly specialized animal. These weighed approximately 230 pounds (104 kg), hunted in packs, and ate wild horses, steppe bison, and wooly rhinoceros. Like many prehistoric animals, the cause of extinction is not fully understood, but likely due to climate change, and an inability to compete with other predators.
This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.
Provenance: private Rome, Georgia, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
#164973Choice. All original material. Stable fissures from fossilization process. Abrasion and indentation to top of the skull right side. Teeth are intact. Lower jaw attached to a wire to display on stand. Great coloration and exceedingly rare.Condition
- Shipping Info
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