Taxidermy

At UKAA we buy and sell good items of taxidermy and we are always on the lookout for something special.

Taxidermy is the art of mounting the skins and skeletons of animals for display.

All vertebrate species of animal can be mounted, this includes fish, amphibians, birds and mammals.

These items were often displayed in museums, privates houses or as hunting trophies.



At UKAA we always try and source the best quality items by the finest taxidermists, in the Victorian era leading taxidermists include L W Barlett, T E Gunn, and E F Spicer, to name just a few. 

Deer heads and antlers are very collectable and are often mounted on beautiful wooden shields with a description of when they were shot and a date. These are known as Hunting Trophies and will often have been mounted to tell a story. 

 
The finest taxidermist of fish was J Cooper & Sons. The fish were displayed in glass fronted cases and some of the best examples were bow fronted, they are absolutely stunning. J Cooper & Sons operated from London in the early part of the nineteenth century. Popular fishes that were stuffed were prize Trout, Perch, Rudd, Pike, and Roach.

 
Taxidermy goes back a long way and was first practised by the Ancient Egyptians and later by the natural historians. This was initially done for the preservation and recording of the animal kingdom. This was a very important part of history and was beneficial for education.

The Great Exhibition, which took place in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, included a number of taxidermy exhibits. Hermann Ploucquet, a German taxidermist, exhibited anthropomorphic taxidermy: animals engaged in human activity. The Morning Chronicle of August 12, 1851 noted that Ploucquet’s exhibits were "one of the most crowded points of the Exhibition". The Great Exhibition, which attracted some six million visitors, is generally held to be the turning point for taxidermy; many of the displays were of a high technical standard and utilized great artistry in scenes and tableaux that, compared to the simply posed species on display in museums, provoked great excitement. Queen Victoria recorded in her diary that Ploucquet's work was "marvellous".

Taxidermy has gone in and out of fashion but it is having a real revival at the moment and it is a very sound investment.



Animal Skeletons and sculls are also popular along with other curiosities.

 
One of the finest pieces that UKAA have sourced is a rare Victorian Polar Bear ‘Boris’

Boris is a male Victorian Polar bear. He is constructed using woodwool bound with string and has primitive hand blown glass eyes, the nuts fixing him to the base are all handmade. The base is a magnificent piece of oak trunk in its primitive shape measuring 38 inches. He comes complete with his certificate from D.E.F.R.A.

From the floor to the top of his head the total height is 2.5 meters (8ft 3" tall). A very impressive piece of Victorian taxidermy at is absolute best.