“The wolves have entered Paris,” Serge Reggiani once sang. Fifty years later, a triceratops enters the Marais!
The frightening reptile, herbivorous but extremely dangerous, is on display in a window until October 15, rue des Archives, a stone's throw from the BHV, right next to Eataly and the Moncler boutique. Then, it will go to Drouot, where it will be sold at auction on October 21 by the auctioneers of the Binoche and Giquello firm.
Listed for sale at 800.000 euros, its value is estimated between 1,2 and 1,5 million euros.
Big John - that's his name - seems to come straight out of Jurassic Park , the film by Steven Spielberg. However, it is very real.
Discovered in North Dakota, in the United States, in 2014, this dinosaur is even exceptional: “There are only 41 specimens of triceratops skulls in the world and only around ten complete skeletons”, underlines the expert paleontologist Iacopo Briano.
“At seven meters (715 cm exactly) from head to tail, Big John is the largest triceratops in the world, which will put him in the Guinness Book of Records,” adds auctioneer Violette Stcherbatcheff, general director of the Binoche and Giquello study.
Better: 60% of his body bones and 75% of those of the skull are authentic (the missing parts were restored by casting), which is an unusual ratio.
“The presence of such a prehistoric animal is extremely rare,” enthuses Me Stcherbatcheff. It is an exceptional piece; we had to present it to the public. »
Displayed in a window in the former Gucci store, “Big John” can be visited on Thursdays and Fridays.
Triceratops lived between 70 and 65 million years ago in what is now North America before becoming extinct when an asteroid hit planet Earth. “Big John and his ilk were not particularly friendly,” explains paleontologist Iacopo Briano with a smile. The proof ? The tyrannosaurus rex, or T-Rex, did not dare to approach it…”
Big John was a fighter. A perforation at the upper right level of its collar attests to this. It is probably due to a congener. Who probably had a bad time. Because Big John, you shouldn't look for him!
Until October 15
Public exhibition of “Big John”:
Rue des Archives
13, rue des Archives, 75004 Paris
Thursdays from 18 p.m. to 22 p.m. and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 19 p.m.
At the Drouot hotel
9 Rue Drouot, 75009 Paris
Monday 18, Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 from 11 a.m. to 18 p.m.
Sale of “Big John” and other prehistoric objects (fossils, skeletons) at Hôtel Drouot, Thursday October 21, 2021. The auctions are led by the auctioneers from the Binoche and Giquello firm.
Text and photos: Axel G. – Instagram
30.09.21
WHAT IS GOING ON TO THE CHECK ?
Paris Café festival 2024
This unmissable event is an opportunity for specialty coffee lovers, amateurs or professionals, to stock up on coffee. But also to discover new trends with a multitude of coffees from more than 100 renowned brands and roasters.
Maraboutage evening at the Everybody 2024 festival
Friday February 9, 2024 from 22:30 p.m. until 1 a.m., prepare yourself for an experience where magic merges with boundless creativity, to present a spectacle that transcends the ordinary.
A 100% plant-based “Food Temple” at Carreau du Temple
After Africa, Australia and Portugal, the Carreau du Temple festival dedicated to food opens its doors for three days with a new theme: plants. From Friday September 22 to Sunday September 24, the 7th edition of the Food Temple will be an ode to nature and its beauty...
NOW ON THE MOOD MARSH
Victor Hugo, the writer with a thousand talents
Born in 1802, Victor Hugo became a social writer, a playwright, a poet, a novelist and a romantic designer. Nicknamed the man-ocean then the man-century, he is a political figure and a committed intellectual. He found success with Notre-Dame-de-Paris in 1831 and with Les Misérables in 1862.
The best tattoo parlors in Marais
Tattooing, an age-old practice, has long been the prerogative of convicts, dock workers, the underworld and sailors. Although it has become democratized, now affecting all profiles and concerning one in five French people, including 16% women compared to 10% men, it still remains taboo due to its definitive and transgressive nature.
Juliette Drouet actress, muse and mistress of Victor Hugo
At 14 rue Sainte-Anastase, from 1836 to 45 and at 12 from 1845 to 48, a few hundred meters from Place des Vosges, lived the muse and lover of Victor Hugo, Juliette Drouet née Julienne Gauvain.