A little off our beaten track but too exciting to pass over: the specialist film and entertainment arm of auctioneer Bonhams is set to welcome bids on an ultra-rare ape-man costume, created for the filming of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, at the upcoming Pioneers Of Popular Culture vintage auction, to be held at Goodwood in the south of England on August 15 2010. More details can be seen here:

Included in the Film and Entertainment Memorabilia section, with bidding starting at 2pm GMT, the costume was used for The Dawn Of Man sequence that opens the film and appears in the scene, among others, where one of the female apes cradles and feeds a live chimpanzee, which was used for realism.

Other headpieces and props have come to auction in the past, but this is one of the only times a complete costume has surfaced, with such items becoming increasingly scarce due to the fact that Kubrick had the film’s props, models and costumes destroyed after filming at MGM British Studios in London was completed to prohibit the development of a sequel.

The costume is faux fur-covered, moulded and painted foam latex, comprising headpiece with shaped resin facemask and moving lower jaw; a pair of (detached) ears; a pair of modified gloves as hands; two-piece bodysuit, upper half with velcro fastening to back and press-studs to neck, inscribed Female, one breast with rubber milk sac, lower section with buttons to elasticated waistband, latex knee pads and elasticated footstraps; and one foot.

A letter of provenance provides further background as to the costume’s origins and authenticity. International telephone and internet bids may be registered with Bonhams for those interested in the sale. Estimate: £15,000 – 20,000 / €18,000 – 24,000 / $23,000 – 31,000. See the listed auction item page at Bonhams for more information.