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Now, you can shop for a T-Rex skeleton as well

Christie’s will soon be offering 'Shen', a T-Rex that would have lived 66-68 million years ago, for auction

The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Singapore on 28 October.
The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Singapore on 28 October. (AFP)

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The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex drew thousands of visitors in Singapore on Friday eager to have a look at the huge fossil before it heads for auction in Hong Kong.

Many took selfies with the dinosaur, named "Shen", the Chinese word for god, which measures 12.2m long and 4.6m high and weighs 1,400kg.

Also read: Christie's auction: An art collection that spotlights the figure

The T-Rex, which would have lived 66-68 million years ago, was unearthed in Montana, in the United States, in 2020.

"We knew the grandchildren are so into dinosaurs. They're always like 'dinosaur this, dinosaur that', so we thought, 'wow, it's such a good experience to bring them to have a look at this real thing'," retiree Nancy Seet said.

Dinosaur enthusiast Richard Chan, 37, said he was reliving his childhood.

"I collect a lot of Jurassic Park T-Rex figurines so really cool to see an actual one," said Chan.

When Shen is sold, it will be the first auction of a T-Rex fossil in Asia, according to Christie's.

Some experts have expressed concern that such significant items should not be auctioned to private collectors, where they may not be available to the public or to scientists.

Francis Belin, president at Christie’s Asia Pacific, said they hoped that exceptional objects ended up in institutions so they could be seen by the public.

A guide price was not provided for Shen, nor the identity of the seller, but Belin said a previous T-Rex skeleton "Stan" fetched $31.8 million at a sale in New York in 2020.

Shen the T-Rex is on public view for three days until Sunday. The auction in Hong Kong takes place on 30 November.  

Also read: 55 important works form a part of Saffronart’s Spring auction

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