Auction News: He’s a record ‘beaker’ - stuffed common pheasant is most expensive ever sold at auction

The highest amount ever bid for a stuffed pheasant at auction has been achieved by a piece of taxidermy in the Cotswolds.

The common pheasant – a familiar sight in the English countryside – stood head and shoulders above leopards, a bear, a peacock, and even an eagle to achieve not only the top price of the day, but at £1,800 the highest bid ever placed for a pheasant.

Stuffed and mounted in a naturalistic setting contained in a metre-long glazed case, the common – or ring-necked – cock pheasant had been prepared by the renowned taxidermists Peter Spicer & Sons in 1936, and came with good provenance.

A brass plaque was inscribed ‘Newton-le-Willows Lancashire 1936 The Highest Bird of the Day shot by John Hunter M.C. and retrieved by Tag’.

The lot came with framed and glazed photographs of the shooting party and Tag.

Auctioneers at Moore Allen & Innocent had expected the lot to achieve between £300 and £500 at their Sporting Sale on Friday, February 17, and were delighted by the result.

Elsewhere in the taxidermy section, a 19th century blonde loggerhead turtle shell, brought back to the UK by an officer in the Merchant Navy, achieved the second-highest lot price of the day at £1,750, while a stuffed and mounted white tailed sea eagle on wooden base, bearing a label inscribed ‘Giles Sim Collection via Keys of Aylsham’ made £1,000.

And a mounted leopard skin rug by the renowned taxidermists Van Ingen and Van Ingen of Mysore achieved £780.

In an extensive sporting pictures section, two oil paintings on panel of racehorses – Kenfield Surprise and Salopian – by the early 20th century artist Frances Mabel Hollams achieved £1,400 each, while Resting Setters with Day's Catch, a shooting picture by John Morris, made £1,150.

A pair of tinted chromolithographs signed by Snaffles, The Finest View in Europe and The Worst View in Europe, achieved £1,050, while The Fresh Catch of Trout, a still life study of three trout in oil on canvas by Alexandre Dalziel made £1,000.

And also breaching the £1,000 barrier was a Perrazzi MX8 12 bore shotgun with 29½-inch over and under barrels, which achieved £1,250.

Finally, a technical centre tour for two people at Renault Sport’s Enstone headquarters raised £200 for charity.

The money-can’t-buy tour was sold on behalf of Friends Of Enstone, an organisation that supports people caring for sufferers of dementia. The auctioneers waived their commission and fees, so every penny bid goes to the good cause.

In all, more than £63,000 worth of antiques were bought and sold at the auction.

For more information about buying and selling antiques at auction, log on to mooreallen.co.uk