Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren More Furniture and Collectibles

Sinke & van Tongeren exhibited this extremely rare Auzoux Gorilla by carefully taking apart the model and creating an exploded view of this historically important piece. When viewed from a particular angle all pieces come together to form the original shape. It was part of the exhibition called ‘TIER’ at MOA in The Netherlands The story of a remarkable 19th century anatomical model created just four years after Darwin unleashed a political storm with his theories on human evolution. The publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species in 1859 caused debates to rage about human evolution, debates which witnessed the politicisation of a creature whose existence had only recently been confirmed by modern science. On one side of the argument was the Darwinian camp; on the other were those opposed to Darwin’s theory, such as Richard Owen, the famed Director of the Natural History Museum and a man who, interestingly, coined the word ‘dinosaur’. Tales of the creature in question had endured for centuries, but up until 1847 it remained a myth, an unknown. This all changed thanks to the missionary Thomas Savage and the anatomist Jeffries Wyman who wrote a paper for the journal of the Boston Society of Natural History in which they described a new species: Troglodytes gorilla. (Later, in 1929, Harvard zoologist Harold Coolidge would apply the synonym Gorilla gorilla...

A huge 19th Century French Birdcage with a composition of nineteen Fine Taxidermy birds. We can imagine this being an amazing orchestra of beautiful tunes. Among the musicians are a ...

The Kea (Nestor notabilis) is a species of large parrot found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. Known for attacking livestock, especially sheep. There are also anecdotal reports of kea attacking rabbits, dogs, and even horses. There are also suggestions that kea used to feed on moa in a similar way. It all sounds brutal yet if looks beautiful. With its mostly olive-green plumage with orange feathers on the undersides of its wings. The outer wing are a dull-blu. It sits on top of a green marble ornament and under a large antique glass dome...

Hammerhead (Scopus umbretta) is a medium sized wading bird. The shape of his head with a long bill and crest at the back looks like a hammer. This gave the species its name after the Afrikaans word for hammerhead ‘Hamerkop’. We sculpted this Hamerkop in a very gracious and friendly pose. Its base is tailor made with antique wood and velvet. Housend under an antique 19th century glass dome...

The Duyvenbode’s Lory (Chalcopsitta duivenbodei) is found in northern New Guinea. Named after Maarten Dirk van Renesse van Duivenbode (June 2, 1804 – March 31, 1878) who was a Dutch merchant, trader of bird skins for fashion and naturalia. The colour palette of this bird is very special. Almost bronze like. A great match with the antique velvet base. Note: All animals used for their work came from captivity and died on natural causes. No animals are raised or killed for their work. The works of Dutch Artists Sinke and van Tongeren are inspired by golden age old master painters...

Four magnificent macaws on a row. Perched on a gild wooden ornament that is waal mounted. A composition inspired by the famous 17th century Hondecoeter paintings. Resulting in a dynamic tableaux that exploding in colour. One Red-and-green macaw (Ara chloropterus) and three Blue-and-gold macaws (Ara ararauna) Note: All animals used for their work came from captivity and died on natural causes. No animals are raised or killed for their work. The works of Dutch Artists Sinke and van Tongeren are inspired by golden age old master painters...

Left: Bald Eagle & Snakes (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) This magnificent bird of prey fighting two snakes. A Puff adder (Bitis arietans) and a Blood Python (Python brongersmai). This battle takes place on top of an antique marble and zinc plinth. Note: Not available for the US Right: Verreaux's Eagle & Snakes (Aquila verreauxii) A very rare black eagle in the midst of a tough conflict with a Royal Python (Python regius) and a Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor). Situated on an identical plinth to the Bald Eagle. Two impressive sculptural pieces. Price for the set: € 60.000,- (excl. VAT) Price for single: € 35.000,- (excl. VAT) Note: All animals used for their work came from captivity and died on natural causes. No animals are raised or killed for their work. The works of Dutch Artists Sinke and van Tongeren are inspired by golden age old master painters...

The Haarlem taxidermists Jaap Sinke and Ferry van Tongeren have recreated Audubon’s iconic flamingo especially for the ‘Vogelpracht’ exhibition at Teylers Museum. As an artist, John James Audubon is one of the sources of inspiration for their own work. Birds in this work are an American flamingo. A Grey headed swamphen that is mainly a blue-ish green. And an elegant Giant wood rail. Plus the tail of a Ring necked...

We found this beautiful ornament years ago in a London antique shop. We immediately thought ‘Owls!’ But had to wait for four years to collect the right species that matched the measu...

This monumental work is inspired on the famous quote of Darwin. “If everyone were cast in the same mould, there would be no such thing as beauty.” It is because of this quote that we added Darwin to our name Darwin, Sinke & van Tongeren. This quote also fits our goal to do all our taxidermy work without the use of factory moulds that are typical for contemporary taxidermy. We sculpt all our bodies by hand and therefor can create the unique poses like how they line up in this mayor work. We combined many different birds with many different features from many different points of the compass. Together they form a 17th Century like composition of colours and poses. This collection varies from the rare African Congo Peafowl and a gracious Stanley Crane to a regular Dutch chicken. Quoting Charles Darwin...

The Spectacled owl is the largest owl to be found in the dense tropical rainforests of South America. It will eat everything that moves and is not too heavy to fly away with. It wi...

KING OF THE MUSEUM Since we started, we always wanted to make a very large crocodile. Wishful thinking, we thought it was. But now we were able to do so. We were lucky we could obtain a Nile crocodile...

Magnificent Bird of Paradise really is the official name for this species. Have a closer look to see why. Being able to work on a bird of paradise certainly is a privilege. But th...

Toucans are very high on everybody’s list. They are spectacular. The most colourful toucan by far is the Keel-billed Toucan. These bright colours on its beak are breath taking. But a...

A cute artwork with two young Ring-tailed Coatis (Nasua nasua) playing with a piece of fruit. Set on a wooden plinth. This object is currently on display at JAMB, Pimlico Rd, Lond...

A unique hand-sculptured mannequin creates a one of a kind work of fine Taxidermy. Al the bare skin parts are hand-painted. This common African Ostrich is 2 meters high and built on...