“The Jungle”, 166 Piccadilly, London.

Circa 1900

The all-glass case, so typical of Wards work, is stencilled internally to the lower left glass panel with his trade mark ‘The Jungle’ and Piccadilly address. A peak period case from the world’s most famous taxidermy firm, and a very expensive and important commission in its day. Today cases such as this are becoming extremely hard to find.

50.5cm by 33cm by 66.5cm

Ref: 26837

For more information on this spectacular taxidermy firm see:
‘A History of British Taxidermy’ by C. Frost published in 1987, or ‘Rowland Ward Taxidermist to the World’ by P.A. Morris published in 2003.

The great horned owl Bubo virginianus: Also known as the tiger owl (from early naturalists describing it as a “winged tiger” or “tiger of the air) is a very large owl with excellent hearing and vision, native to the Americas. While the true nature/purpose of the ear tufts (clearly seen with this remarkable example) is unknown, it is agreed that the tufts do not play any role in the hearing ability of the owl. But it is known that their hearing is up to ten times that of a human being. Additionally, the great horned owl’s eyes are very large, even for an owl, and are only slightly smaller than the eyes of a human, helping this owl be a very successful hunter.