Wild Boar Hunting Trophy 1929
Wild Boar Hunting Trophy 1929 - £175
From a Duke of Westminster hunt.
This large Wild Boar's trotter/hoof has been preserved as a trophy from a hunting trip. The Silver cap is inscribed St Saens 1929 and hallmarked London, 1929 with the makers mark for Rowland Ward & Co who were described as 'naturalists by special appointment to the Royal Family, & c, gold medallists for artistic taxidermy'.
Wild Boar hunting was the preserve of European nobility. When Wild Boar became extinct in Britain in the 17th Century. the nobility began to travel to mainland Europe in pursuit of wild boar, usually staying as invited guests with local gentry. Some European noblemen maintained ‘boar parks’ to enable sportsmen to hunt or shoot wild boar in conditions of relative comfort.
The 2nd Duke of Westminster (who bought Rosehall as a love nest for him and Coco Chanel in 1926) was a keen wild boar hunter and established a pack of boar hounds on his estate in south-western France in 1911, using foxhounds procured from the Cheshire Hunt.
Shortly after the cessation of WWI the Duke re-established the hounds, moving them to St. Saens in Normandy in the mid-1920s. He travelled to France once a week throughout the winter hunting season accompanied by hunting guests; including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and various aristocratic friends.
We bought the peculiar item at auction recently because we felt it would be controversial (!) - little did we know it is a trophy from the organised wild boar hunts of the Duke of Westminster in 1929. Perhaps he took solace in the hunt as it was the year after he and Coco Chanel split and he had sold Rosehall....
Wild Boar Hunting Trophy 1929 - £175
From a Duke of Westminster hunt.
This large Wild Boar's trotter/hoof has been preserved as a trophy from a hunting trip. The Silver cap is inscribed St Saens 1929 and hallmarked London, 1929 with the makers mark for Rowland Ward & Co who were described as 'naturalists by special appointment to the Royal Family, & c, gold medallists for artistic taxidermy'.
Wild Boar hunting was the preserve of European nobility. When Wild Boar became extinct in Britain in the 17th Century. the nobility began to travel to mainland Europe in pursuit of wild boar, usually staying as invited guests with local gentry. Some European noblemen maintained ‘boar parks’ to enable sportsmen to hunt or shoot wild boar in conditions of relative comfort.
The 2nd Duke of Westminster (who bought Rosehall as a love nest for him and Coco Chanel in 1926) was a keen wild boar hunter and established a pack of boar hounds on his estate in south-western France in 1911, using foxhounds procured from the Cheshire Hunt.
Shortly after the cessation of WWI the Duke re-established the hounds, moving them to St. Saens in Normandy in the mid-1920s. He travelled to France once a week throughout the winter hunting season accompanied by hunting guests; including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and various aristocratic friends.
We bought the peculiar item at auction recently because we felt it would be controversial (!) - little did we know it is a trophy from the organised wild boar hunts of the Duke of Westminster in 1929. Perhaps he took solace in the hunt as it was the year after he and Coco Chanel split and he had sold Rosehall....
Wild Boar Hunting Trophy 1929 - £175
From a Duke of Westminster hunt.
This large Wild Boar's trotter/hoof has been preserved as a trophy from a hunting trip. The Silver cap is inscribed St Saens 1929 and hallmarked London, 1929 with the makers mark for Rowland Ward & Co who were described as 'naturalists by special appointment to the Royal Family, & c, gold medallists for artistic taxidermy'.
Wild Boar hunting was the preserve of European nobility. When Wild Boar became extinct in Britain in the 17th Century. the nobility began to travel to mainland Europe in pursuit of wild boar, usually staying as invited guests with local gentry. Some European noblemen maintained ‘boar parks’ to enable sportsmen to hunt or shoot wild boar in conditions of relative comfort.
The 2nd Duke of Westminster (who bought Rosehall as a love nest for him and Coco Chanel in 1926) was a keen wild boar hunter and established a pack of boar hounds on his estate in south-western France in 1911, using foxhounds procured from the Cheshire Hunt.
Shortly after the cessation of WWI the Duke re-established the hounds, moving them to St. Saens in Normandy in the mid-1920s. He travelled to France once a week throughout the winter hunting season accompanied by hunting guests; including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and various aristocratic friends.
We bought the peculiar item at auction recently because we felt it would be controversial (!) - little did we know it is a trophy from the organised wild boar hunts of the Duke of Westminster in 1929. Perhaps he took solace in the hunt as it was the year after he and Coco Chanel split and he had sold Rosehall....