Dampierre-en-Yvelines —His name is Vulcain and he is a gigantic Apatosaurus that roamed the face of the Earth in the Late Jurassic period some 160 million years ago. But today he, or perhaps she, is calmly standing on the grounds of a 17th century French castle where Louis XIV and Louis XV lived before Vulcain took up temporary residence last July 13th. Vulcain, who is 69 feet (21 meters) long is regarded as the largest dinosaur skeleton in the world ever offered at auction. The 80% complete Apatosaurus skeleton is slated to be sold in Paris on November 16th by the Collin Du Bocage and Barbarossa auction houses, estimation: $US 3.3 million to US$5.5 million.

Brontosaurus has a colorful history. Named by O.C. Marsh in the 1880s, the dinosaur was in fact identified in 1903 as a member of the Apatosaurus genus, which Marsh had found earlier. Since taxonomy honors the name that came first, Brontosaurus excelsus became Apatosaurus excelsus. The giant herbivore family to which these dinosaurs belonged lived in North America, Europe, and parts of Africa during the late Jurassic period, between 160 million and 145 million years ago. The giant herbivore named Vulcain is about 150 million years old and was discovered in Wyoming in the United States in 2018. It took three years to excavate him.

The expert who evaluated Vulcain was Eric Mickeler, who has been responsible for a number of previous dinosaur skeleton sales for 20 years at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Aguttes. Prices for dinosaur skeletons have increased significantly over the past 25 years since the sale of Sue at Sotheby’s New York for $US8.4 million. Sue sits in the Field Museum of Chicago today and the record price she obtained stood until 2020 when The Museum of Abu Dhabi purchased a T-Rex christened Stan at Christie’s New York for $31.8 million.

The Domaine de Dampierre is located in the heart of the very scenic Vallée de Chevreuse, less than 45 minutes from Paris. Designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart and André Le Notre, Château de Dampierre, which was home to Louis XIV and Louis XV, was owned by the Dukes of Luynes from 1663 to 2018, before being bought by Franky Mulliez, the businessman founder of the French tool and equipment maker Kiloutou, in 2018. Since its acquisition, the Château de Dampierre has been revitalised and its restoration is considered to be one of the largest projects in France involving a privately-owned historic monument that is open to visitors. The estate once welcomed the kings and queens of France into its celebrated iconic walls for fabulous fetes and sumptuous sojourns. But this summer and into the autumn, all eyes will be on Vulcain who remains on display there until November 3rd, 2024.

« The exhibition of Vulcain inside the walls of the castle of Dampierre remains within the spirit of both the Duke Honoré d’Albert de Luynes, the Duke of Chevreuse and the owner of the Estate of Dampierre in the 19th century and Mr. Franky Mulliez, the new owner of the property, both of whom having a passion for palaeontology and collecting fossils, » commented Pascal Thévard, the general manager of Dampierre. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. 22bis rue de Chevreuse à Dampierre-en-Yvelines, France. + 33 (0) 30 52 52 83. https://www.domaine-dampierre.com/