A special effects facehugger from Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror Alien. After the mining vessel Nostromo received a transmission from a desolate moon, the crew discovered mysterious eggs in the bowels of a crashed vessel. Kane (John Hurt) got too close to one, and a creature attached to his face. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) and navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) brought him aboard the Nostromo, placing the rest of the crew in danger.

This facehugger was obtained from the collection of its maker, special effects legend Roger Dicken, who has been its owner since filming completed. The facehugger was originally designed by Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger, who was responsible for creating the Alien aesthetic, including the Alien itself, the crashed ship they investigated ("The Derelict"), and the "Space Jockey", the large creature they found on board. However, Giger's initial facehugger design was altered considerably. It was originally a larger creature that would have wrapped around the outside of Kane's helmet. It was subsequently re-designed in collaboration with director Scott, writer Dan O'Bannon, Dicken and artist Ron Cobb. Dicken then sculpted, cast and constructed the creature utilising a metal skeleton with a fibreglass-and-resin torso.

The facehugger skin is made of latex and features realistic detailing, including veins, wrinkles and ligaments. The flexible tail is made of foam latex to enable it to wrap around the victim's neck. A monofilament wire protrudes from the end of the tail and fingers, which would have been pulled to give the impression of the facehugger tightening its grip. The legs feature articulated wire cores attached to the skeleton. Latex sacks on either side have an egg-shaped weight within to ensure they hung correctly over Kane's face. On the underside of the facehugger, the metal skeleton is exposed.

The piece has some wear from production use and aging, and Dicken has undertaken some cosmetic repair work to the surface and the embryo sacks. The facehugger is discoloured as a result of age, turning from a pale-skin colour to a darker brown. Some of the foam latex on the tail has flaked away, as has some of the latex on the legs. It comes on a custom-built display, keeping it in its iconic pose, and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Dicken. Dimensions (displayed) 35 cm x 20 cm x 37 cm (13 3/4" x 8" x 14 1/2")

£50000-70000 M