Dino Egg authenticity - real?

[BrettCo124]

Hey everyone! I posted this on a Facebook group and had some great responses. My question is, I recently purchased a segnosaur egg from a reputable dealer who has been selling Dino fossils for a long time now. I have read how some Dino eggs might be fake, and I figured I’d just ask the question and get your professional opinions. Because of the reputation of the dealer, I do believe it’s authentic. It’s not like I bought it off of online from a random person, but I still wanted to ask the question. 
 

What do you think? I appreciate your feedback. 
 

 

  

[Fossildude19]

EDIT: Moved to IS IT REAL?.

 

Please be sure to limit the comments to the fossil, and NOT the dealer. 

Thanks. 

[Troodon]

Curious, do you have any provenance on this "egg" and what size is it?

On the surface it looks like someone cobbled together eggshell to look like a real egg.  I would really be concerned with its authenticity.  Other views like base?

My recommendation to all collectors is to have all dinosaur material validated regardless of the labels "reputable" or "trusted" before you buy.  Don't trust what is described always check it out.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for the response! I will take a photo now of the bottom. 

 

 

  

  

  

[JohnJ]

16 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Please be sure to limit the comments to the fossil, and NOT the dealer. 

Thanks. 

 

Emphasis added.

[Troodon]

23 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Curious, do you have any provenance on this "egg" and what size is it?

?

[BrettCo124]

I do not have any provenance at the moment. As a collector myself who typically only purchases things that I can trace back to the source, I understand how ridiculous that sounds to not have it for this item. He didn’t provide me with the source. With that being said, I do trust the source but I know that might not mean much to anybody. 

[Fossildude19]

Dealers are not immune to being deceived.   

[Troodon]

The inconsistencies in the color and random placement of the eggshells as well as the gray matrix between is a huge red flag that its not all authentic.  

[Troodon]

This is a segnosaur egg in my collection..  See the uniformity in color and how the eggshells fit together.   No matrix between fractures.

 

 

[BrettCo124]

That’s beautiful! Would you say the egg is likely authentic eggshell fragments placed on top of an already existing egg that didn’t have any remaining shell fragments on top of it? Is there any chance at all that this could just be how it was found? 

[FranzBernhard]

7 minutes ago, BrettCo124 said:

Is there any chance at all that this could just be how it was found? 

No. Uneven coloration of fragments. Wide gaps with matrix between fragments.

 

8 minutes ago, BrettCo124 said:

Would you say the egg is likely authentic eggshell fragments placed on top of an already existing egg that didn’t have any remaining shell fragments on top of it?

Could be. "Best" scenario for this object would be a real egg with a few original fragments of eggshell still sticking to it. Rest are fragments of eggshells glued onto it.

The broad scratches in the matrix remind me of many chinese eggs, so there could be a little bit of "reality" to it.

Anyways, you have seen the specimen of @Troodon, that´s the quality to look for! Have your money back!

Franz Bernhard

[Troodon]

We often see eggs from China with added eggshell to make them look more complete and call them composited.  There is typically a better color match..  IMO there is no way this egg was found like this for the reasons I already stated..   Would need sharper and closer photos of the eggshell to determine if they are real eggshells...most likely they are real. 

[BrettCo124]

Hoping these closeup photos can show you the eggshell fragments. I received this on a trade, so I’m going to keep it regardless. Unless it was just completely fake. I really appreciate all of your inputs. 

 

  

[Troodon]

The material they used to adhere the eggshell and fill the gaps has completely obscured the ornamentation to determine if they are real.  My guess is they are real but cannot definitely say they are.

[BrettCo124]

Thanks so much for your help. Hate to ask, but I did a trade on another egg as well. This time, with a customer of mine who is so strict with provenance and authenticity, that I didn’t even question him. Not that it matters much, but he collects usually museum provenance pieces. It’s a tarbosaur egg. I’m assuming by the looks of it, same thing is going on here with fragments being glued on? Or is it possible this one is real and in its natural form? Either way I love the fossil and am going to keep it anyways. Plus he is a friend of mine. 
 

 

 

  

[JohnJ]

@BrettCo124  Please do not mention seller names.  Thanks.

[BrettCo124]

29 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

@BrettCo124  Please do not mention seller names.  Thanks.

Sorry about that John!

[Troodon]

This one is a bit harder to decipher.  The right side (top photo) is what I would expect to see.  Has you move to the other side one immediately starts seeing random shell placement, different colors and matrix between the shell, a bit of  hodgepodge.  Difficult to say how much shell material was composited, if any, but lots reattached.  It does all looks like real eggshell.

[BrettCo124]

Thanks so much for the info. I see what you mean! I’m a bit confused on what’s underneath of the shell fragments. Is it a common practice for people to apply the shell fragments to an actual egg that just didn’t have any shell present on it? Or is this some type of homemade matrix shaped like an egg? I’m sure that answer can go either way, but was just curious if there’s still a good chance that what’s underneath is still the egg. 

[Bguild]

2 hours ago, Troodon said:

This one is a bit harder to decipher.  The right side (top photo) is what I would expect to see.  Has you move to the other side one immediately starts seeing random shell placment, different colors and matrix between the shell, a bit of  hodgepodge.  Difficult to say how much shell material was composited, if any, but lots reattached.  It does all looks like real eggshell.

Agreed, it looks real, but probably had shell reattached, or composited. You can see areas where there doesn’t look to be the right continuity between pieces.

 

That said, some of the areas of shell do look good so it’s probably more a question of which parts were added on versus if there’s the core of an egg underneath.

[Troodon]

3 hours ago, BrettCo124 said:

Thanks so much for the info. I see what you mean! I’m a bit confused on what’s underneath of the shell fragments. Is it a common practice for people to apply the shell fragments to an actual egg that just didn’t have any shell present on it? Or is this some type of homemade matrix shaped like an egg? I’m sure that answer can go either way, but was just curious if there’s still a good chance that what’s underneath is still the egg. 

Most eggs that I have seen composited have the eggshell simply attached to the material that has filled the inside of the egg.  In this case it probably the same sediment that makes up the base of the egg.   Remember most of these composited eggs are hatched so there is an opening for sediment to enter the egg cavity.

[FranzBernhard]

We had a really nice egg of this type here on TFF not long ago. Can anyone find it and link to it? Thank you!

I agree fully with both eggsperts!

Left pic: These type of eggshells have some kind of continuous linear texture to it. You can clearly see the misfit in texture between the two outlined fragments, so at least one of them is glued on, but probably both.

Right pic: This could be a real part. Would you like to provide a pic of that area and look for continuous eggshell texture? Possibly you will need illumination with an low angle to see the texture more clearly.

Franz Bernhard