A Vintage Mounted Taxidermy African Granta's Gazelle Head

Origin: African
Period: Mid-Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1940
Height: 39 inches (with antlers)
Width: 12 inches (with ears)
Depth: 19 inches (at maximum)

The heavily built, yet elegant, gazelle head, with clearly ringed and twisted black horns mounted on a shield and ready to hang. There are only two deficiencies to note, one being some loss to the left ear and the other being a split to the hard wood shield. Overall though, he is in very sound order when one considers the amount of travelling he has done in both life and now in preservation. There are three fixing holes to the shield in each apex for mounting and also one to the rear.

The Grant's Gazelle (Nanger granti) is a species of gazelle found in East Africa and lives in open grass plains and shrub lands; it avoids areas that have high grass where the visibility of predators is compromised. This example dates to around 1940.

With a lifespan of around twelve years, Gazelles are one of the fastest animals in Africa and can reach speeds of 50 mph, nearly outpacing their main predator, the Cheetah. They tend to live in herds and will eat less coarse, easily digestible plants and leaves. Most surviving gazelle species are considered threatened to varying degrees and four species became extinct in recent times due to human causes. Appreciated for its grace, it is a symbol most commonly associated in Arabic literature with female beauty.

An imposing and relatively exotic piece of taxidermy if ever there was one.