AN IMPORTANT SET OF IRISH ELK ANTLERS, FROM CARTON HOUSE, CO. KILDARE
A COLOSSAL SET OF ANCIENT ANTLERS, IN REMARKABLE AND UNTOUCHED CONDITION. SO OFTEN THESE MIGHTY PIECES HAVE BEEN HEAVILY RESTORED, WITH ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS TO THE ANTLERS AND ‘TINES’ IN MODERN, UNSYMPATHETIC MATERIALS. HERE, THE BODY OF THE PIECE REMAINS COMPLETELY UNRESTORED, WITH ONLY FOUR, CHARMING AND NAIVE CARVED WOODEN ‘TIPS’ (REMOVABLE) TO STRENGTHEN THE SHAPING OF THE ANTLERS, REPLICATING THE ORIGINAL SPAN. THE SURFACE OF THE ANTLERS HAS A DRY, ALMOST CHALKY PATINA, HAVING NEVER BEEN WAXED OR ENHANCED BUT LEFT QUIETLY ALONE, AS THEY WERE FOUND.
THIS SET HAS ENORMOUS IMPACT, SPANNING OVER 9 FOOT 6 ½” WIDE. THE ‘IRISH ELK’ WAS A SPECIES OF MEGALOCEROS AND ONE OF THE LARGEST DEER THAT EVER LIVED. ITS RANGE EXTENDED ACROSS EURASIA, FROM IRELAND TO EAST OF LAKE BAIKAL, DURING THE LATE PLEISTOCENE. THE LATEST KNOWN REMAINS OF THE SPECIES HAVE BEEN CARBON DATED TO ABOUT 7,700 YEARS AGO.
DURING THE 18TH & 19TH CENTURIES IT BECAME FASHIONABLE FOR THE GREAT IRISH HOUSES TO MOUNT SETS OF ELK ANTLERS, DISCOVERED BURIED AND PERFECTLY PRESERVED WITHIN THE PEAT BOGS OF THEIR ESTATES. THIS SET HUNG IN THE ENTRANCE PORCH OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS CARTON HOUSE, OWNED BY THE DUKES OF LEINSTER UNTIL ITS DISPERSAL SALE IN 1949.
PROVENANCE:
PRIVATE COLLECTION, IRELAND
CARTON HOUSE DISPERSAL SALE IN 1949, ON BEHALF OF THE DUKE OF LEINSTER.
DIMENSIONS:
H 117CM, 3’10” X W 298CM, 9’ 6 ½” X D 83CM, 2’8 ¾”
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