Object of desire - the egg that will be sold later this week in Paris
A RARE opportunity has arisen to buy the egg of a bird that has long been extinct - the Great Auk.
Known as the 'Tomkinson Egg', after a previous owner, John Whitaker Tomkinson, it is being offered by the Paris branch of auction house Christie's at an online sale which concludes at 2pm on Thursday November 5.
The egg is believed to have been laid around the year 1800.
The notes in the catalogue state: "For more than 200 years, eggs of the extinct Great Auk have been regarded as one of the great treasures of natural history.
" In the Victorian era, the obsession with these eggs was so immense that the histories of all known eggs were sought out and recorded in rigorous detail.
"Comprehensive lists were made featuring the owners of each egg and the prices realised when the eggs were sold and resold again.
"Today, almost all recognized Auk eggs can be found in museum collections from which they are unlikely ever to be released.
"Thus, this is a rare opportunity to acquire a gorgeous and celebrated example of a Great Auk egg."
The notes continue: "The Great Auk was a flightless, aquatic bird measuring approximately 2½ feet tall and weighing on average 11 pounds.
"With a black body and white underbelly, its appearance fell somewhere between that of a puffin and a penguin.
"When hunting, the Great Auk employed its hooked beak and powerful swimming stroke to stalk fish and crustaceans.
"Native to the cold waters of the North Atlantic, its range extended westward to the coasts of Newfoundland, Maine, Massachusetts, and even as far south as Florida, and eastward to Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the islands off the coast of Scotland, namely Orkney and St Kilda.
"During the winter months, they were known to go as far east as Norway and Denmark, and skeletal remains have been found as far south as Madeira and Morocco.
"Great Auk pairs mated for life, laying a single egg per breeding season – usually May or early June – on small islands with rocky coastlines.
"Their longitudinal, pear-shaped eggs were well adapted to roll in tight circles, greatly reducing the chance of falling off of a cliff edge.
"Parents would take turns incubating the egg, all while benefitting from the protection of dense social colonies and few natural predators.
"Historical records indicate that Great Auks showed no innate fear of humans, and this – coupled with their slow and awkward movement on land – greatly increased their vulnerability to extinction as Europeans exploited the species for its flesh, eggs, and down feathers which were used to make pillows and bedding.
"With a population once estimated to number in the millions, and despite increasing conservation efforts, by the early 19th century the population had grown too small to sustain itself.
"On June 3, 1844, the last known breeding pair of Great Auks were killed by a group of seafarers on Eldey Island, off the coast of Iceland, one of whom smashed the pair’s egg under his boot.
"Despite the probable sighting of a solitary Great Auk off the coast of Newfoundland in 1852, without any breeding pairs remaining, this once-prolific animal was fated to join the ranks of other recently extinct avian species whose numbers dwindled largely due to human activity, including the Dodo, the Elephant Bird and the Passenger Pigeon.
"As such, this incredibly rare Great Auk egg stands as a poignant reminder of humanity’s responsibility for environmental conservation and stewardship.
"Because of this tragic history, Great Auk eggs are exceedingly rare, and even more so in private hands.
"Thanks to the efforts of passionate 19th and 20th century ornithologists and oologists including William Yarrell himself, William Chapman Hewitson, Robert Champley, Symington Grieve, Louis d’Hamonville, Alfred Newton, Edward Bidwell, as well as Paule Marie Louise and John Whitaker Tomkinson, the surviving specimens of Great Auk skins and eggs, including the present example, are well documented in the literature."
Christie's have estimated a hammer price of between 30,00 and 40,000 Euros (£25,000-£33,000).
This looks realistic because as of 5pm today, two potential buyers have entered the fray, with the highest bid, to date, being 26,000 Euros (£22,000).
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