The Natural History and Taxidermy Sale on 19th April once again realised very strong results across the board, achieving a total hammer price of £149,820 and a 90% sold rate.
Both good quality antique pieces and modern taxidermy were equally in demand, with works by well regarded contemporary taxidermists such as Carl Church and Tony Armitstead selling particularly well. Notable results were achieved for a Snowy Owl by A.J. Armitstead of Darlington (sold for £4,000), and a Cased Snowy Owl by Carl Church of Pickering (sold for £2,600). One of the most unusual lots in the sale, also by Carl Church, was 'The Fat Man', a hyper-realistic resin sculpture of a human head in a glass dome, which sold for £4,000.
Amongst the strong lots of period pieces in the sale was an early 20th century Bengal Tiger head, attributed to Theobald Bros of Mysore (sold for £4,200), and an Edwardian Cased Display of Birds Native to Africa, attributed to E.F. Spicer of Birmingham (sold for £3,500). Selling at the top estimate of £4,000 was a skull of an extinct Steppe Bison, which lived in the Middle Pleistocene-Holocene era, around 195,000-135,000 years ago.
To discuss consigning Natural History and Taxidermy for forthcoming sales, please contact Robbie Bright, or submit an online valuation.
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.
