A Wonderful Pair of Late 19thC Taxidermy African Nile Crocodiles c.1900

SOLD
Origin: African
Period: Late Victorian
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1900
The Larger: 58” wide x 15” deep x 16” high
The Smaller: 40” wide x 13” deep x 9” high

The full mount juvenile African nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), one larger, both being cord sewn, with glass eyes, in snarling poses with full sets of teeth, and lustrous thick skin, surviving from the turn of the nineteenth century.

The crocodiles are presented in varying condition. One is in nigh on perfect order, the smaller of the two, which only suffers from some small digit losses. The larger specimen suffers from a loss to one front leg, and loss to the tail end, and elsewhere a handful of digits have suffered small amounts of loss. This type of loss is very common with such mounts, and overall, as a pair they still retain much decorative merit. We have given them a light brush of oil and a clean from dust deposits.

The Crocodile ~ Lewis Carroll, 1832 – 1898

How doth the little crocodile
     Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
     On every golden scale!
 
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
     How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
     With gently smiling jaws!

You can have real fun with these chaps.
image/svg+xml