Adam's The Irish Library Wednesday 17th April 2019

169 www.adams.ie The Irish Library| 17th April 2019 221 TAXIDERMY AN EDWARDIAN BLUE WILDEBEEST HEAD, 1910, mounted on a timber shield by Roland Ward, London € 1,000 - 1,500 220 TAXIDERMY A PAIR OF EDWARDIAN GAZELLE SKULLS WITH HORNS, mounted on a timber shield by Gerard & Sons London € 600 - 1,000 As early as 2200 BC, the Ancient Egyptians had developed methods of em- balming. These techniques enabled themtopreserve andmummify animals as small as birds and as large as hippopotamuses. The practice was carried out mainly for spiritual purposes and was associated with burial traditions, so it is unlikely that they resembled the taxidermy we are familiar with today. Throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, European taxidermists cultivated their craft – but with mixed results. It was not until the 19th Century that taxidermy was developed into a highly skilled and specialised art form, ex- HPSOLȴHG E\ HODERUDWH WDEOHDX[ SUHVHQWHG DW *UHDW ([KLELWLRQ RI Victorian Society had the greatest hand in the popularization of taxidermy. Ever fascinated with the exotic, the strange and sometimes the ridiculous, the Victorian elite were enthralled by these wildlife souvenirs - so much so that by the mid-1800s there was a taxidermist in most major towns and cit- ies of Britain and Ireland. Among the most famous Irish taxidermists of this time was Williams & Son RI 'DPH 6WUHHW 'XEOLQ $W LWV KHLJKW WKH ȴUP GUHZ FOLHQWV IURP DOO RYHU the world with wonderfully accurate models of birds and animals in realistic postures mounted in naturalistic settings. Examples of their work, including cased displays of seals and otters, can be seen in the Natural History wing of National Museum of Ireland, locally known as the ‘Dead Zoo’. 5RZODQG :DUG /WG RI 3LFFDGLOO\ ZDV MXVW RQH RI WKH PDMRU %ULWLVK ȴUPV RS - HUDWLQJ LQ /RQGRQ GXULQJ WKLV SHULRG 7KLV ȴUP ZDV UHQRZQHG IRU LWV ODUJH game trophies which included specimens hunted in colonial Africa and India during the British Raj and brought back to Britain as trophies. Of the various branches of taxidermy, undoubtedly the most notable and eccentric is “anthropomorphic taxidermy”. This kind of taxidermy pertains to the Victorians outlandish taste and appealed to their love of whimsy. These cased tableaux present animals dressed as people and engaged in human activities such as, squirrels posing as boxers, rabbits presented as school- children, a guinea pigs’ cricket match, or as seen in this sale, foxes posing as hunters.