Christie's plan to sell off Shackleton's artefacts

A DESCENDANT of Sir Ernest Shackleton has called on the State to buy material belonging to the Irish born polar explorer due to be auctioned at Christie's in London next month.

Mr Jonathan Shackleton said yesterday that it represented a unique opportunity" to buy relatively inexpensive mementoes, which could form the nucleus of a Shackleton display or museum.

Mr Shackleton, a schoolteacher, has already called for a museum to be established in Co Kildare, where the explorer was born.

His appeal has been supported by Dr Con Costello, president of the Co Kildare Archaeological Society, who said such an exhibition in Ballitore village, near the adventurer's early family home at Kilkea House, would be "very appropriate".

The personal keepsakes are expected to fetch up to £1,500 at an exploration and travel sale on April 10th.

One purchaser may be the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, which is opening a new wing that will mark Shackleton's contribution to British exploration.

The material listed for sale by Christie's marks three key points in Shackleton's Antarctic career. Most poignant is a rough cotton ration bag he used on his epic sledge journey with Captain Scott across the Antarctic in 1902 - together with a crumpled sprig of artificial holly which Shackleton produced on Christmas Day.

Scott later recalled the expedition's "childish delight" at the prospect of a Christmas feast to break their otherwise uninterrupted spell of semi starvation.

"We laid ourselves out for supper, reckless of consequences, having first had a Christmas wash and brush up," Scott wrote. "Redolent of soap, we sat around the cooking pot, whilst into its boiling contents we poured a double whack of everything.

"I had observed Shackleton ferreting around in his bundle, out of which he presently produced a spare sock, and stored away in the toe was a small round object about the size of a cricket ball, which proved to be a noble plum pudding.

"Another dive into his lucky bag and out came a crumpled piece of artificial holly. Heated in the cocoa, our plum pudding was soon steaming hot and stood on the cooker lid crowned with its decoration."

Also on sale are two tattered flags which Shackleton flew on his own Antarctic expedition of 1907-1909.

The Blue Ensign which flew on the battered sealing ship, the Nimrod, is expected to fetch up to £3,000 while the Union Jack which he planted on the Antarctic plateau has a pre sale estimate of up to £5,000.

From Shackleton's third and best remembered expedition of 1914-17 - marked by the South Aris Irish Antarctic Adventure earlier this year - comes a dramatic painting by George Marston of his ship, Endurance, which was crushed in Weddell Sea pack ice in October 1915.

The painting, with a pre sale estimate of between £15,000 and £20,000, is one of eight works by Marston on offer.

Marston was a member of the crew which set off in August 1914, only to find their ship frozen into an ice floe in January 1915. Having salvaged boats, provisions and sledges from the ship, the 28 man crew found themselves in cracking ice 350 miles from the nearest land across frozen ocean.

In April, 1916, they reached Elephant Island, from where Shackleton and five hand picked crew set sail on a perilous voyage for help to South Georgia 800 miles away. Having reached the island, they undertook a 30 mile snow and ice traverse to Stromness whaling station to raise the alarm. After two failed attempts to return to Elephant Island, Shackleton was on the ship which rescued the remaining crew, who had camped beneath upturned boats for 102 days.

Christie's specialist, Mr Nicholas Lambourn, said yesterday: "These artefacts are from the three crucial points in the career of a brave and dedicated explorer.