For those ornithologists with £80,000 just lying around the house

One of the subjects at the Dallas Majolica Convention that drew a lot of discussion was the upcoming auction of a Minton majolica peacock at Christie's in London this September.

Minton English Registration photo of the peacock

There are only a handful of these peacocks in existence and for many collectors it is the ULTIMATE majolica acquisition. I can't say it really does anything for me personally but to be fair I doubt I’ll ever be in a position to buy one. Having seen it in person the detail certainly is stunning. That having been said the upcoming peacock is missing the cock's comb on the head of the bird. Christie's is having the comb restored before the auction so the buyer need not feel cheated by it's absence. The bird is expected to reach a price of £50,000-£80,000. That's $116,242 in real money!

UPDATE

So what did the peacock finally bring? $131,799.09

So what if the dog knocks it over? You can always buy one of the remaining twelve.