Lot 1648
Largest Egg Known. The extinct flightless bird Aepyornis maximus produced the largest egg of any animal that ever lived, including dinosaurs. The egg in this lot is 13 inches high and 9 inches wide. This was the equivalent volume of 10-12 ostrich eggs or 160 chicken eggs. Aepyornis is commonly known as the elephant bird, a name that originated from Marco Polo's account of the giant bird in 1298. He described the ten foot tall Aepyornis that weighed over half a ton as having talons large enough to seize an elephant. Aepyornis was the largest bird that ever lived and only became extinct in the middle of the 17th century. Aepyornis only lived on the island of Madagascar and the shell from this bird that has been reconstructed to form this huge impressive egg is 10,000-20,000 years old and was found in the southern sands of Madagascar. Over 65% of the eggshell is from one egg. The color match is excellent as great care and time was spent in matching the sizes, curvature, and color of the needed egg fragments to put the egg back to its normal shape and size. The differences in color occur because of minerals penetrating the pores in the shell during the fossilization process. The egg is quite solid and stable. Elephant bird eggs are far rarer than Dinosaur eggs. There are only about a dozen unbroken Aepyornis eggs known, most in museums, with one selling at auction for over $30,000. This huge egg comes perched on a hand carved wooden stand for a very dramatic display.
Add $40 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $2,750 - 4,000.
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| Realized $1,740 |
