Lot 121
Steppe Bison (Bison priscus) Partial Skull, Horn Cores
Steppe Bison (Bison priscus) Partial Skull, Horn Cores
Starting Bid: $2,000
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North America, Northwestern United States, Alaska, Pleistocene, ca. 250,000 to 10,000 years ago. This is an amazing find, a partial skull with massive horns and sheaths from a prehistoric steppe bison, Bison priscus. The bone coloration throughout is a lustrous caramel brown that is stunning, and the cavity on the brow reveals an inner spiderweb of bone structures. The most notable part are the horn cores, still covered with the sheaths. One sheath is white and the other black, leading us to nickname this devilish skull Cruella, although the other Disney villain Maleficent is also fitting. While steppe bison resembled their modern-day ancestors in appearance and size, the horns of modern-day bison pale in comparison to these enormous, curved sheaths presented here! Size of skull: 13" L x 41" W (33 cm x 104.1 cm); 32.5" H (82.6 cm) on included custom stand; horn width tip to tip: 39" W (99.1 cm); individual horn length: 32" L (81.3 cm)
The steppe bison, sometimes steppe wisent, were a species that roamed from the British Isles and mainland Europe to Asia and across the Bering strait into North America. There is evidence they survived in Alaska up until nearly 5,500 years ago before dying out and replaced with European bison and the North American Bison antiquus, and later our modern Bison bison. This is a true fossil from a steppe bison, in the days of the last Ice Age when Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons hunted these beasts and memorialized their hunts and reverence for these creatures in their famous cave paintings. Their meat, hide, bones, and horns would have been valuable resources to humans in order to survive the harsh environment of the Ice Age.
Publication: 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 Texas, USA Collection
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Item #
201805
- Condition: Damaged. Skull is fragment as shown. Horn cores are covered with sheaths, with losses to sheathes around lower base of horns. The sheaths are two different hues and have flaking and splintering of surfaces, clear fixative applied to surface to protect sheaths. Stable cavity on center of skull as shown. Great coloration throughout.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $299 | $25 |
| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $19,999 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $49,999 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $20,000 |