A PAIR OF GREAT IRISH DEER ANTLERS. Approximately 290cm, some damage

The Giant Deer or 'Irish Elk' (Megaloceros giganteus) lived during the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs and...

A PAIR OF GREAT IRISH DEER ANTLERS. Approximately 290cm, some damage

The Giant Deer or 'Irish Elk' (Megaloceros giganteus) lived during the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs and survived the Great Ice Age, although the climactic changes following the Ice Age may have hastened its extinction. The latest known remains of the Irish elk have been carbon dated to about 5,700 B.C. The largest concentration of its remains have been found in Ireland, chiefly in the marl underlying bogland. These ancient antlers, many discovered in caves in Counties Waterford, Cork and Clare, have long been a feature of the Irish banqueting hall.

An early recorded example of the Irish giant deer or 'Elk' antlers, of the type found around Cos. Waterford, Cork and Clare, was those sent in 1597 to Hatfield House, Hertfordshire.

The Giant deer (or `Irish Elk') originated during the Pleistocene Period of the Great Ice Age and is thought to have initially colonised Siberia before migrating towards the west in response to the deteriorating climate. Although the Elk inhabited a vast expanse of central Europe and Asia, the largest concentration of its remains have been found mainly in the marl underlying bogland of Ireland giving rise to the popular nomenclature of this species. The high calcium carbonate content of the marl is conducive to the preservation of bones and examples of these ancient antler specimens have been discovered in Counties Waterford, Clare and Cork, many of them in caves. Many have featured in Irish banqueting halls following a centuries old tradition, particularly during the 19th century when it was fashionable for such antiquarian relics to be displayed in baronial halls. An instance of this is recorded in an 1850's interior drawing of the new manor at Adare, Co. Limerick (see J. Cornforth, English Interiors, 1790-1848, London, 1978, fig.51).

A sketch recording one of the most celebrated examples of the extinct Giant Deer displayed at Rathfarnham Castle in the 1580's is preserved in the National Museum of Ireland (see A. Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, Irish Watercolours, London, 1994, pl.30). Records also exist of a pair of Antlers of this genus which were sent to Hatfield house, Hertfordshire in 1597.

Related elk antlers include a pair which were presented to Sir Robert Peel by the people of Ireland, sold by The Earl Peel, Christie's London, 6 April 2000, lot 210 (£47,000) and another pair originally belonging to the Cobbe family of Newbridge, Co. Dublin sold anonymously in the same rooms, 10 April 2003, lot 45 (£57,360)

John Guille Millais (1865-1831), an animal and bird artist, was the fourth son of Sir J. E. Millais. He travelled extensively in Iceland, Canada, America, Alaska and South Africa and published many natural history books including A Breath from the Veldt 1895, British Deer and their Horns 1897, The Wild Fowler of Scotland 1901 and American Big Game 1915.

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