An Ibis - Sacred not Glossy - will be in the spotlight at New York auction in midweek

                                                 

Artwork will be star bird at Christie's sale

THE Glossy Ibis influx into Britain has been a recent highlight of the birding scene, but the focus will this week switch to a sister species - a Sacred Ibis.

At a Christie’s auction of antiquities in New York on February 3, a 43-cm long wood and bronze artwork dating back to 664-30 BC is due to go under the hammer with a pre-sale guide price of between 15,000 and 20,000 US dollars.

It is thought be of ancient Egyptian heritage because such sculptures - sometimes hollowed out to contain the ashes of a slaughtered real bird - were often offered to Throth, a god of wisdom, writing and learning.

For a period, the birds were even farmed in Egypt for the purpose of being sacrificed.

The artwork to be sold was formerly held in a museum in Tel Aviv.

The species has a wide distribution in Africa, with further small populations in Iran, Iraq a Kuwait but,  ironically, it is understood now to have been lost to Egypt as a result of the drainage of swamps and other wetlands.                                                

European relative - Glossy Ibis