Antique 19th C Victorian Diorama of Merlin, 'Falco Columbarius'

Fine, original, Victorian dome of four Ruffs by Henry Ward (1812-78) of Vere Street, London. As a young man Ward was employed as a taxidermist by the legendary American naturalist an...

Antique 19th C Victorian Diorama of 40 taxidermy tropical birds, labellled by W.E.Dawes, variously perched on branches and groundwork...

A pair of Antique 19th C French Dioramas of taxidermy birds and animals, variously perched on branches and groundwork set within their original ebonised...

The badger is an omnivorous mammal with short legs for digging. He has an elongated, weasel-like head with small ears. This specimen is a European badger or Meles meles and is bigger than his American counterparts. The female badger in the showcase has a deviation in its pigmentation, which the light spots on its coat can notice. Such an animal with partial loss of pigmentation is called leucistic. Unlike people with albinism who have no pigmentation, leucistic badgers don't have red eyes but black ones. The taxidermist who handled the animal was James Rowland Ward (London, 1848-1912). He learned the trade from his father and opened his own company, "Rowland Ward Limited" in London. He mainly made a name for himself with his taxidermy birds and large animal trophies...

Antique 19th C French Napoléon III Diorama of 50 taxidermy tropical birds ,variously perched on branches and groundwork ,set within its three glass ebonised case .Species preconventi...

The German sculpture Franz Josef Steger (1845-1938), under the guidance of Professor Wilhelm His (1831-1904) and based on the designs of anatomist Car...

Antique 19th Century Victorian Black Forest carved figures of sheep used as props from a christmas nativity. Such items were usually bought back by tourists from the Swiss / German b...

Fine hand carved oak figure of Saint Anthony of Padua Late 18th- Early 19th Century Saint Anthony is depicted with his head raised, mouth ajar, as if in the process of speaking. He stands upright wearing his traditional Franciscan robes and holding open a book. Beautifully carved with high level of detail, unusual for oak pieces. Oak is a dense hardwood which is difficult to carve and it's rare to see this level of detail in an early oak sculpture. Saint Anthony is the Patron Saint of lost things. While living at the monastery, he had a treasured book which contained psalms and personal observations. His book was stolen by a man who decided to leave the monastery and Anthony ferverently prayed for its return as the cost of a new book would have been beyond his means. The thief repented and returned the book which is believed to be preserved at the Franciscan Library in Bologna. He is one of the most popular Catholic saints...

19th c. articulated virgin, stationary bottom and moveable arms. Meant to wear clothes. Beautiful, fine facial features. Original paint. One broken finger...

Late 19th century automaton of a monkey in 18th century style dress. Likely to be French, this piece shows all the hallmarks of J. Phalibois, one of the foremost makers of clockwork toys...

This 19th century briar wood pipe head takes the form of a horses head. The whole sculpture is finely detailed and it has a great expression.

Early 19th century wooden statue of St Jerome, circa 1800. South Europe.