An Early 20thC Mounted Taxidermy Head of an Indian Blackbuck
SOLD
Origin: India
Period: Early Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1930
Height: 31 inches (with horns)
Width: 11 inches at head or 19 inches with horns
Depth: 13.5 inches
An impressive head of an Indian antelope or Blackbuck, with two beautifully dark, twisting and spiralling black horns, large glass eyes, pricked up ears and dark brown and white fur. This example has a little wear to the ears, and one or two small areas of thinning, but is overall in good, attractive condition.
The Indian Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is an antelope native to India and some parts of Pakistan and Nepal. It is one of the fastest of land mammals, and can reach speeds up to 80 kilometres an hour, a swiftness developed in order to protect it against natural predators such as the Indian cheetah (now extinct).
This beast is important to Indian culture, is the state animal of Andhra Pradesh, and its skin is important to Hinduism – Brahmin boys are traditionally required to wear a strip of hide after performing the rite-of-passage ceremony ‘upanayana’ (literally, the ‘sacred cloth ceremony’).
In any event, this is an important and beautiful piece of exotic taxidermy, that would take a proud place in any taxidermy collection.
