Victorian Scottish taxidermied ram's head snuff mull with silver and semiprecious stone mounts
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1870
This Victorian-era Scottish snuff mull is crafted from a taxidermied ram’s head, representing a distinctive form of 19th-century Highlands craftsmanship. The object functions as a specialized snuff container, featuring an upper compartment equipped with a hinged, flip-top lid intended to hold snuff.
The sculptural composition is embellished with elegant silver mountings, including decorative finials at the tips of the large, spiraling horns. The taxidermy is further accented by inset semiprecious stones and various silver details, including an ornamental plaque on the forehead and a delicate silver chain draped across the animal's face.The piece highlights the technical virtuosity of silversmiths working in 19th-century centers like Edinburgh and Aberdeen, combining organic materials with refined metalwork to create a unique object of both ethnographic interest and decorative appeal.
It measures 28 x 45 x 43 centimeters.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Materials
- Taxidermied ram's head, silver, semiprecious stones
- Dimensions
- 28 x 45 x 43 cm
Technical characteristics
- Mechanism
- Hinged flip-top lid
Design
- Features
- Taxidermied ram's head with spiraling horns, silver horn finials, silver forehead plaque, semiprecious stone accents, silver chain
Identification
- Source note
- Described from a single auction-house listing published on Invaluable (reproduced with Invaluable's permission). Details apply to that one example; other examples of the type may differ, and the listing is supplementary evidence, not authentication.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.