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| 150 Years of Collecting: The South Australian Museum 1856-2006 |
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THE CRAFT OF TAXIDERMY
The word taxidermy comes from the Greek, meaning 'to arrange skin'. Today the term refers specifically to the arrangement of animal skins in three-dimensional form. Museum taxidermy includes a wider set of skills, aimed at preserving and presenting specimens for study or exhibition.
Modern taxidermy’s origins may be traced back to 16th century Dutch spice traders. They preserved exotic birds by partially skinning them and preserving them with aromatic spices, a form of mummification. Later, the practice of placing these animals in lifelike poses became more common.
The process became more complex by the mid 18th century. After making a series of incisions, the animal was carefully skinned and its skin treated with a variety of chemicals. These ranged from poisonous arsenic or bichloride of mercury, to harmless salt or talc. Each taxidermist had a well-guarded recipe. Once the skin was treated the animal was ‘stuffed’, packed with hay, wood-shavings or sawdust.
This process was followed until the late 19th century when German taxidermists developed a method of sculpting an artificial body in clay, over an animal skeleton. This form was then moulded and cast in plaster or heavy paper. Finally, a tanned skin was mounted over this moulded form. The basic technique remains the same today, although fibreglass and polyurethane foam have replaced plaster and paper. The technique allows separate preservation of animal skeletons, greatly assisting scientific research.
By the mid-nineteenth century every major European town had its own taxidermist. During the 1860s Adelaide and Gawler had several practising taxidermists who mounted birds and animals for colonists to send ‘home’. The South Australian Museum relied upon these individuals until appointing George Beazley in 1881. He had formerly practised his trade on the Isle of Wight and at the British Museum. Beazley’s work, and that of the Rau brothers, dating from the 1880s and 1890s, is still displayed in the Museum’s galleries today, and is highly regarded.
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