Milk River Daspletosaur
Two Smiths collaborated with Royall Tyrrell Museum scientists, designers and preparators to create a mount for a Daspletosaur skull.
The museum wanted to present the skull in a Beauchêne style or exploded view: a type of presentation for which the bones are mounted in anatomical position but spaced so each bone can be viewed from multiple angles.
Taking our cues from Art Nouveau ironwork, expressive flowing lines that vary in width and thickness were forged to create an overall asymmetrical composition that suggests muscle and tenon. The lines all emerge from a central vertical stem and where they overlap the lines create interesting negative spaces.
The tips of the bars are forged thinner and appear to ripple where they terminate into perfect cradles that support the fossil bones giving the impression they are suspended in mid-air.
