Three large cased dioramas of exotic African birds, prepared by Ashmead #x0026; Co of London and destined for the British Raj, will go under the hammer in a natural history and taxidermy sale at Tennants of Leyburn on July 6.
Thought to date to c.1865-80, the cases were reputedly commissioned by a wealthy British family who lived in Mysore, southern India. They were brought back to the UK in 1947, the year India gained independence, and were housed in Norfolk until 15 years ago when they were moved into storage and sold to the vendor.