Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Cordy's
• Sale Name:
  November 2016 Art & Antique Auction
• Sale Date:
  08 Nov 2016 ~ 9am (NZ time) - Lots 1 - 663
  08 Nov 2016 ~ 5pm (NZ time) - Lots 670 - 1091
• Lot #:
  93
• Lot Description:
  A set of extinct Irish elk horns and skull
  measuring 3.2m across; the impressive horns with some old damage and restoration, pin fittings to the skull.
• Provenance:
  For the greater part of the 20thC these horns have been in the possession of Major Robert (Bob) Wilson and hung in his private Himatangi hunting lodge. Upon his death they were bequethed to his son, and subsequently to our vendor.
• Notes:
  Major Bob was one of the first European settlers to graze stock on the Himatangi Sand Dunes, in the first half of last century he owned and farmed huge tracts of land along the Himatangi coastline. His father, Sir James Glenny Wilson, Kt.B., was an M.P. 1881-96; first president of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union 1902-20; and first president of the Board of Agriculture 1914-29. This pair of elk horns, or another owned by Major Bob were deposited with the Dominion Museum, now Te Papa, as per a letter dated 1921 held in the museum archives, this letter also notes: ‘With reference to the Irish Elk head purchased by you from Mr. O’Conner...”. OTHER NOTES: The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age, about 11,000 years ago, with this example reputedly (family provenance) coming from an Irish bog. The Irish elk stood around 2.1m (6.9’.) tall at the shoulders carrying the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65m (12’), this example with a width of 3.2m (10.5’) is considered large.
• Estimate:
  NZ$8,000 - 8,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Scientific & Industrial

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.