While cataloging the current Monsters and Friends, Featuring the Kevin Burns Collection catalog, I found myself enamored with this extraterrestrial nugget: Alien DNA (4) Spore Vials in (1) Bio-Mechanical Skeletal Holder Props from Prometheus (TCF, 2012). At first sight, it’s just four unusual vials in a holder, but this movie prop kept drawing me back. The attention to detail is astounding. An impressive representation of H.R. Giger’s biomechanical vision as realized and evolved throughout the Alien franchise and finally with Prometheus.
The otherworldly alien vials are nested in a holder constructed of cast resin skeletal core and base with repurposed loofa spines added between ribs, finished and painted to appear fashioned from bone and dried organic tissue. Spore Vials are constructed of aqua-tinted cast resin with textured surfaces and an obscured black liquid core. Designed and finished to reflect and pay homage to the creativity and craft instigated by the original visionary designs of Giger. The prop is highly visible when “David” (Michael Fassbender) opens the relic inside the ship’s lab, releasing the “black liquid” center, a potent and virulent mutagenic pathogen manufactured by the “Engineers” as a biological weapon, and the source of everything Xenomorph.
These prop vials may not hold actual pathogens, but they do hold the kind of movie magic that sticks with us in very real ways. When I handle props like this, I find myself transported to the resulting scene it was used in, in my favorite movies, and I’m endlessly impressed by the passions and talents that come together to create such memorable objects. My brief encounter with this prop has given me a lot of joy. I can only imagine how the lucky winning bidder will feel owning it and having it in a place of pride on their mantle!
This terrific prop can be yours at the Monsters and Friends, Featuring the Kevin Burns Collection Auction on Nov. 5th. Tell your friends! The Xenomorph the Xenomerrier!!
With Alien Acid Blood & Face Hugs.
Michael Mansfield
Consignment Director – Comics, Entertainment & Music