Royal Bayreuth Extinct Great Auk Pitcher Creamer Red, Grey, Gold - Blue Mark T P

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Extinct RoyalBayreuth Great Auk Pitcher Creamer- The Great Auk was found from Canada, Iceland, Greenland and the UK down to Northern Spain! If you onlycollect the Best Royal Bayreuth – Blue Mark, then seeing this - Extinct Great Auk cream pitcher in black, green and gold would make you gasp - a Great Auk sighting at last! However, in the almost unheard of and un-natural colors of red, grey and gold – does it represent a Baby Auk? Or, just artistic license in color use... can you believe your eyes? Also, there was a black signature that seems to have rubbed off mostly - that I think was from the time of the pitcher's creation - see image #2 - it looks like "W i l e r" -- any idea on this? The Great Auks are gone and this one will be too! Read more about Great Auks at the bottom of this listing! This Great Auk cream pitcher is in excellent condition – no crazing, chips or flaws (just one very small chip on the underside - bottom - it is visible in photo #2). It is 6 inches tall 4.5 inches across and 3 inches wide. The piece has the Bayreuth Blue Mark with “P” & “T” on the shields! I love this little guy – but am selling a few of my nicer items to help my son with his college tuition costs. The last Great Auk was sighted in 1852 no doubt this one will go fast – like its extinct colony! Look at the images and then let me know if you have any questions. Past prices of similar pieces in black and white (mis-identified as a penquin) $500-$700 - what does an un-naturally colored red Great Auk bring?? Link: /d-555531/ultra-scarce-royal-bayreuth-penguin-creamer-pitcher.html Link: /d-56512/royal-bayreuth-penguin-creamer.html The Great Auk ( Pinguinus impennis ) formerly of the genus Alca , was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus , a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean region. It bred on rocky, isolated islands with easy access to both the ocean and a plentiful food supply, a rarity in nature that provided only a few breeding sites for the auks. When not breeding, the auks spent their time foraging in the waters of the North Atlantic , ranging as far south as New England and northern Spain through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Ireland, and Great Britain. The Great Auk was 75 to 85 centimetres (30 to 33 in) tall and weighed around 5 kilograms (11 lb), making it the largest member of the alcid family. It had a black back and a white belly. The black beak was heavy and hooked with grooves on its surface. During summer, the Great Auk had a white patch over each eye. During winter, the auk lost this patch, instead developing a white band stretching between the eyes. The wings were 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, rendering the bird flightless. Instead, the auk was a powerful swimmer, a trait that it used in hunting. Its favorite prey were fish, including Atlantic Menhaden and Capelin , and crustaceans . Although agile in the water, it was clumsy on land. Its main predators were Orcas , White-tailed Eagles , Polar Bears , and humans . Great Auk pairs mated for life. They nested in extremely dense and social colonies, laying one egg on bare rock. The egg was white with variable brown streaking. Both parents incubated for about six weeks before their young hatched. The young auks left the nest site after two or three weeks and the parents continued to care for them. Humans had hunted the Great Auk for more than 100,000 years. It was an important part of many Native American cultures which coexisted with the bird, both as a food source and as a symbolic item. Many Maritime Archaic people were buried with Great Auk bones, and one was buried covered in over 200 auk beaks, which are assumed to have been part of a cloak made of their skins. Early European explorers to the Americas used the auk as a convenient food ... read more

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