Whale vomit is auction star lot
A LUMP of foul-smelling whale vomit is being sold at a Macclesfield auction house – with a whopping £7,000 price tag.
Believe it or not the stinky mass, which is up for auction at Adam Partridge Auctioneers, is a valuable commodity to the perfume industry as it prolongs the perfume’s scent.
Found by a dog walker on an Anglesey beach, the vomit – known as ambergris – weighs just over a kilogramme and measures little more than eight inches long.
Chris Surfleet, from the auction house on Withyfold Drive, said: “I’ve never had one like this before at auction. The price received will be dependent on the quality.
“Ambergris is formed in a sperm whale’s digestive system and is passed either as vomit or as part of the faeces.
“Scientists believe it is used to coat irritating objects in the whale’s intestines.”
But despite its popularity in the perfume industry, Chris said the ambergris is foulsmelling and is being kept in a temperature controlled strong-room until the auction.
A 6lb lump of ambergris, found on a Lancashire beach, sold for £100,000.
The ambergris will be auctioned on September 25. For more information call 01625 431788 or go to adampartridge.co.uk.