Dodo bones and other curiosities going up for auction

By Gwyn Wright via SWNS

A crazy collection of curios from Dodo bones to mammoth hair and even the tooth from a Megalodon shark are all up for auction next week.

Other lots include a unicorn skull, a centaur skeleton an artwork of a floating stuffed giraffe attached to balloons and even a motorbike-riding zebra which could fetch up to £30,000 ($35,669).

The wacky sale called Objects of Wonder has been put together by Curated Auctions in London.

Buyers will also be able to snap up a stuffed bull shark and even a mounted set of human glass eyes.

Some of the unusual products aren't even all that expensive with a tiny jar of mammoth hair starting at £20 ($23).

Altogether there are 334 weird and wonderful items which will go under the hammer in London on Wednesday, July 13.

The 14 cm serrated fossilized Megalodon tooth is at least 2.5 million years old which is when they became extinct and old could fetch up to £1,800 ($2,140).

Three times the size of a great white shark it was the largest shark ever to exist and was immortalized in the hit film the Meg.

The femur of a mammoth from Siberia, at least 10,000 years old could fetch up to £1,500 ($1,783).

A set of “exceptionally rare” dodo bones were found in Mauritius before the creatures became extinct in 1681 could fetch up to £2,800 ($3,329) between them.

A rib bone, toe bone and a vertebra of Raphus cucullatus will all go on sale.

Both smaller bones are expected to fetch at least £800 ($951) each while the vertebra could fetch up to £1,200 ($1,426).

They will be displayed alongside a certificate of authenticity.

Dodo bones do not come onto the open market often and the privileged private collectors who own them are very few in number.

Collector Viktor Wynd sold one at Chiswick Auctions last year.

He said at the time: “My life as a collector has taken me to strange and faraway places and I have sometimes been blessed with luck, the sort of luck that perseverance sometimes brings.

“In the 2000's I visited a grand house in Suffolk to view a spectacular collection, and in a nineteenth century collector's cabinet I came across a small group of dodo bones – to my knowledge none had come on the open market since 1934 and as far as I have been able to establish only a tiny handful of private collectors – perhaps less than ten worldwide, own one.

“I bought all five and they are truly one of the greatest treasures I have ever or will ever own.

“One I sold to a client, one I swapped for something spectacular, one I sold with Christies and it is a great personal wrench to sell this one – but needs must, the last will remain in the museum’s collection forever."

Also up for grabs are a feather and bone from another legendary extinct bird, the Great Auk, which could fetch up to £3,000 ($3,566) between them - the 3.3cm tall feather selling for at least £2,000 (42,377) and the rib bone for at least £1,000 ($1,188).

The birds, known to scientists as pinguinus impennis, used to live off the North Atlantic Ocean but have been extinct since 1852.

The feather is one of just 14 known to be in private hands across the world.

The creatures sadly became extinct at the hands of rapacious hunters for food and bait.

The birds were often driven up a plank and slaughtered on their way into the hold of a vessel.

The last known specimens were killed in Eldey Island in Iceland but around 80 of them and their eggs are preserved in museums.

This feather comes from the Clungunford Auk and was bought by John Rocke of Clungunford House in 1860.

It was acquired by the current owner from the collection of celebrated taxidermist Barry Williams.

A stuffed taxidermy replica dodo, which was made using specially bred geese to get the feather colour exactly like that of the extinct bird, is expected to fetch up to £3,000 ($3,566).

Meanwhile an “extremely lifelike” fake dodo skeleton could fetch up to £2,000 ($2,377).

Only two taxidermy dodo skeletons have been sold in the past hundred years- the Summers Place Dodo in 2016 and another which was sold in 2019. Before that the last one was sold in 1916.

The unicorn skull, with a huge painted horn, could fetch up to £800 ($951).

The complete skull, which is 24 cm wide and 58 cm long, has all its teeth and is said to have been discovered in the vaults of a castle in Scotland.

The centaur skeleton is a replica of the bones of the centaur.

In Greek mythology the centaur has the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse.

The replica is made from the skeleton of a crab-eating macaque monkey which will need an export permit to leave the UK. It could fetch up to £3,500 ($4,161).

The stuffed juvenile bull shark, was bought back from Madagascar by a tourist in the 1950s. It is expected to fetch up to £350 ($416).

A display of 39 human glass eyes, mounted in a rectangular glazed case, is expected to fetch up to £1,200 ($1,426).

In terms of the more artistic creations, the floating baby giraffe, which hangs from the ceiling, was produced by taxidermist Simon Wilson.

A similar one from Aynhoe Park has previously sold for a whopping £100,000 ($118,897) at auction and his taxidermy and works of art have featured in films and television productions.

It is expected to fetch at least £5,000 ($5,944) but this could be a huge underestimate.

The stuffed zebra, which is riding a Suzuki motorbike, could fetch up to £30,000. ($35,669).

Created by taxidermy artist Andre Robolobavich the full mount taxidermy zebra is riding a custom built, hard tail chopper, 1200cc Suzuki bandit still in working order.

He studied the technique of taxidermy under the guidance of Simon 'the stuffa' Wilson who produced the now famous taxidermy 'Floating Giraffe' at Aynhoe Park

Both Robolobavich and Simon Wilson source animals that have died from natural causes from zoos and farms for their creations.

Auction house owner Rachael Osborn-Howard said: “When I began working on this auction some six months ago, the scarce pieces I really wanted to source and include were a genuine dodo bone, a replica taxidermy dodo, a replica dodo skeleton, and a taxidermy unicorn.

"Fortunately, luck was on my side and all four are featured in this incredible auction.

"From floating giraffes to dodo bones, extinct bird feathers to flying beasts, as well as over three hundred other lots of taxidermy, curiosities and natural history, this sale is sure not to disappoint."