P-P-Pick Up a Piece of Antarctic Exploration History

Sworders are extremely proud to offer a piece of Antarctic significance as part of their March Fine Interiors sale, in the form of an Adélie penguin specimen brought back from the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) that was led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

_{Lot 200 - An important penguin specimen from the 'Terra Nova' Expedition 1910-1913: an Adélie penguin}

The ‘Terra Nova’, or British Antarctic Expedition set off in 1910 under the leadership of Captain Scott, with the primary objective to be the first party in history to reach the geographic South Pole, As well as this, they intended to carry on ground-breaking scientific research that had been begun during ‘The Discovery’ Expedition just after the turn of the century, including the geological exploration of coastal areas and the gathering of emperor penguin eggs in order to plot their evolutionary journey.

Upon reaching the pole on 17 January 1912, Captain Scott and his companions found that the Norwegian Roald Admundsen and his team had beaten them by thirty-four days. Dehydrated, dishevelled and defeated, Scott and his three comrades died on the return journey, making the expedition the most notorious in polar history.

The penguin specimen, which will go under the hammer as part of Sworders’ 10^th & 11^th March Fine Interiors sale, was brought back by Edward Leicester Atkinson, a Royal Navy surgeon who was on the expedition and who was in charge of the main base at Cape Evans while Scott and his party were on their race to the South Pole. It was he too that led the rescue team that discovered the tent containing bodies of Scott and his comrades after they were beaten to the pole.

_{Edward Leicester Atkinson}

For more information please contact Alexander Hallett

alexanderhallett@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778