Natural History & Taxidermy Sale Results

Taxidermy with provenance is perennially popular in Tennants Auctioneers’ Natural History and Taxidermy sales, and the sale on 13^th February was no exception. The top lot of the sale, selling for £7,500 (plus buyer’s premium), was a rare Van Ingen and Van Ingen tiger shoulder mount; pieces by the famous Mysore based taxidermists are always in demand, however, what set this example apart was the inclusion of the original back skin with attached original delivery label. The Bengal tiger was taken from the Hatikhira tea estate in the Karimganj District in Assam, North East India. It was shot by the vendor’s father, Mr C M d’Angibau Esq. on 27^th October 1940, was sold with copies of pictures of the hunt, and had never been offered on the open market before.

Further Indian tiger skin rugs by Van Ingen and Van Ingen and Theobald Bros (also of Mysore) sold strongly too, selling for £2,700 and £2,900 plus buyer’s premium respectively. Again with strong provenance was a very interesting Sloth Bear circa 1931, which was sold with the original Shikar’s game book containing entries documenting the hunt and the original zinc-lined packing crate with stencilled script relating to the first owner (Sold for £2,600 plus buyer’s premium). The bear was taken by Lieut. Thomas Frederick James Collins in Chipgeri, North West India on 29^th June 1931.

Also of note in the sale was an early Victorian Display of Twenty-Six Tropical Bird from circa 1847, which sold for £2,000, and the Cased Fish Collection by the late Mr Roland Stockdale of Newton Aycliffe. The collection, comprising 27 lots, sold for a total hammer price of £4,910.

The sale resulted in a total Hammer Price of £77,330 with 91% of the 269 lots sold.

All auction entries are sold strictly in accordance with CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) regulations, and any necessary licences or Pre-sale approvals are obtained from Animal Health, Bristol.

We are currently accepting lots for the next sale of Natural History and Taxidermy which will take place on 14^th June, please contact us on 01969 623780 or enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk for details.

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