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Roger Kuhns Enlightening Visitors at the Reception
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Dino-Egg Article by Peninsula Pulse

    The Hypselosaurus Priscus (high-ridge lizard) lived in the late Cretaceous era about 70 million years ago. These members of the titanosaurid dinosaur family evolved from Alaska and Russia and spread to Europe. Hypselosaurus was a medium-sized cousin of the brontosaurus with peg-shaped teeth that were too weak for chewing. Hypselosaurus grew to about 40 feet in length and weighed about ten tons.

    The eggs of this dinosaur are special in two ways: they were the first dinosaur eggs ever found and they are the largest dinosaur eggs known to date. The volume of the eggs is about half a gallon, and they are twice the size of ostrich eggs. The Hypselosaurus egg at the Dovetail Gallery was found near the Aude River in the Pyrenees Mountains of France.

    The egg was purchased from Steven Spielberg in 1993 by the late Steve Nicolet of Milwaukee. Nicolet, a business acquaintance of Spielberg, was known for creating outrageous candies in conjunction with Hollywood blockbusters. For the movie Jurassic Park, Nicolet created giant speckled jaw breakers with butterscotch centers that looked amazingly like the dinosaur eggs in the film. Kathy Mand Beck acquired the egg after Nicolet's death last year.

    An original Faberge egg is also on display at Dovetail Gallery. The fine detail and cloisonné' enameling of this exquisite object d'art is a trademark of Peter Carl Faberge, famous goldsmith and jeweler to the Russian Czars and European aristocracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The acquisition of this Faberge egg adds a historical treasure of another kind to Dovetail's Egg Museum.

    Egg Art is the oldest medium within the broad spectrum of the decorative arts, dating back to 722 B.C. when a Chinese chieftain gave painted eggs as edible gifts during a spring festival. The egg's miracuous role in issuing forth new life puts the egg at the center of early mythology in virtually every culture. In the 13th century painted eggs with intricate designs contained religious meanings. Throughout history, the been one of the most pervasive mediums for creative expression.

    Resident artist and Dovetail Gallery & Studio owner Kathy Mand Beck is an accomplished egg artist in her own right. A painter, sculptor and poet, Kathy now concentrates on carving intricate, delicate designs into unforgiving real eggshells of many bird species. During a 1992 trip to Egg Harbor, she was astonished to find only one decorated egg on sale in the village. Thus was born the Dovetail Gallery and Studio which now houses an extensive collection of Kathy's egg art and that of more than 100 egg artists from Europe and the U.S.

For media interviews and site visits, please contact Kathy Mand Beck at (920) 868-3987 or email kathy@dovetailgallery.com.