Taxidermy – Art, Science and Bad Taste

Miniature dogs

4 Jan–23 Mar 2017

The Horniman’s miniature dogs will be on loan to Wimbledon College of Arts thanks to Object in Focus, a project funded by Arts Council England. In the Victorian era, puppies, and in this case foetuses, were made to look like tiny adult dogs to supply the demand for the smallest dogs. Come and see these examples on display at Wimbledon College of Arts during the Spring term.

In the Victorian era many of the dog breeds that we know today were developed or refined through selective breeding. The largest, smallest and dogs with unusual attributes were of considerable interest. Bizarre monstrosities were sometimes produced and extreme forms were often dead at birth or died soon after. Many of these animals were preserved by taxidermists. Tiny dogs were popular as taxidermy mounts but demand outstripped supply so they were often faked. Puppies, and even foetuses, were made to look like tiny adult dogs. X-rays of the tiny dogs displayed here reveal that no bones are present, only the mounting wires. This is a good indication that they were faked. After removing the bones, a skilful taxidermist could cut and stretch the skin over a carefully modelled manikin to make what looks like a tiny adult dog, for all to marvel at.

Lecture:

Taxidermy – Art, Science and Bad Taste

Presented by taxidermy expert Dr Pat Morris, former lecturer at Royal Holloway College and author of many books on the subject including Walter Potter and his Museum of Curious Taxidermy.

Booking essential.Wimbledon College Lecture Theatre,

Merton Hall Road, London, SW19 3QA

Fri 20 Jan 2017 4–5pm