Two Pairs of Vintage Goat and Sheep Horn Mounts
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Early Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1930
Height: 21 inches (with horns) or 14 inches (mount)
Width: 6 inches (with horns) or 3 inches (mount)
Depth: 10 inches (with horns)
Presenting two pairs of horns, mounted on hardwood bases and in excellent condition.
There are over three hundred distinct breeds of goat but these horns are perhaps that of the Markhor which is a large species of wild goat that is found in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. There is also a possibility that all four horns came form the same goat, being a four-horned goat making this a rarer set.
Failing that, they certainly do belong to the goat family, which is a member of the Bovidae species and closely related to sheep as both are in the goat-antelope sub-family Caprinae. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. The sheep horns are perhaps domestic and are certainly from a younger animal than that of the goat.
An inexpensive, yet salient, pair of mounts that would serve particularly well either side of a door or archway.
