Great Scott! Egg from 'most grotesque bird in all the world' expected to fetch as much as £15,000 at London auction

                                                           

A little bit of Antarctic history

 

AN egg from an Adelie Penguin  would not normally be an object of  desire, but an exception is set to go under the hammer (not literally) at a sale in London on Thursday July 9.

What makes this egg  special is that it was brought back by one of the scientists on Capt Robert Scott's ill-fated 'Terra Nova' 1910-13 expedition to the South Pole. 

Measuring circa 75cm x 55cm, the egg, which has been 'blown' of its contents, is contained in a black cardboard presentation box.

Also in the box, crucially, is a typewritten note signed by Herbert Ponting,  the man who gathered it.

This valuable historical document reads: "This box contains the egg of an Adelie Penguin - the most grotesque bird in all the world -which was brought back by me from the Antarctic regions where I was a member of Captain Scott's expedition on which he and four comrades - Captain Oates, Dr Wilson, Lieut Bowers and Petty Officer Evans - perished on their return journey from the South Pole. 

"The Adelie Penguin breeds farther south than any other known creature. 

"This egg was found by me, in November 1911, seven miles from Captain Scott's Winter Quarters, Lat:77.30 S., 750 miles from the South Pole."

The box and its contents are likely to be one of the star lots at an auction to be conducted by Sotheby's next Thursday July 9.

A report in the catalogue states:  "Herbert Ponting (1870-1935) is famed for his role as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for the British Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Terra Nova Expedition, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott. 

"Ponting took some of the first known colour photographs of Antarctica, and was also among the first men to use a portable movie camera in the region. 

"Having helped set up the winter camp at Cape Evans in 1911, Ponting took many photographs of Scott and his men, as well as over one hundred photographs of Adelie and Emperor Penguins."

It continues: "Whilst the tragic deaths of Scott and his men are central to the legend of the Terra Nova expedition, one of the expedition's major objectives was scientific, as this object reminds us. 

"The Terra Nova returned laden with specimens of plants, animals, and fossils, of which more than four hundred were new to science. 

"Penguin eggs were prized for their alleged importance in revealing evolutionary links between reptiles and birds. 

"The box and accompanying typewritten note signed by Ponting suggest that this item was presented as a gift. 

"Intriguingly, the Scott Polar Research Institute holds another Adelie Penguin egg housed in a box of apparently identical construction, with a near-identical typed note signed, stating that the specimen was found at the same location as the present egg ("Lat:77.30 S., 750 miles from the South Pole"). 

"The two specimens may well have been removed by an expedition member from the same clutch of eggs."

Online bidding has already begun and reached £9,000.

However, Sotheby's have high hopes that the hammer price on Thursday could reach between £10,000 and £15,000.

                                                    

Herbert Ponting's note

                                                    

Blown free of its contents - the hole on another side of the egg