I was at an antique store years ago with my mom and I spotted a pair of antique German stag antlers. I immediately felt drawn to them. I couldn’t express why at that particular moment, but I kept going back to them and finally took them carefully off the wall of the booth where they were hanging and claimed them by tucking them into a cubby by the checkout counter. When I took time later to reflect on that purchase, I found vague memories of antique stag antlers mounted on beautifully carved wooden hangers in places we stayed when traveling around Germany and Europe. I remember them hanging on the wall over corner benches, next to checked curtains. I remembered them in restaurants and Gasthauses (a German “guest house” aka bed & breakfast that was often like staying in someone’s home.)
I don’t remember taking great notice of them at the time or even liking them very much, but when I remember those wonderful times living overseas, those stag antlers were present in the background. They became something nostalgic from my childhood in Germany and I could bring them into my own home as an adult.
I seemed to be the only person in the US who really liked antique European stag antlers over a decade ago because they were very hard to come by. I did find a few more pairs at Junk Bonanza in Minnesota a few years ago to add to my collection, but it wasn’t until recently that I found antique stag antlers that were even more similar to the ones I remembered from my childhood. They had intricately carved wooden hangers instead of a simple shield shape and each one was unique.
In the picture below, the two smaller stag antlers were the ones I bought over 10 years ago. I purchased the impressive pair of antique fallow deer antlers from my new favorite source for antique European antlers – MS Taxidermy. Since that was a larger pair, they weren’t listed as available for shipping to the US, but I have purchased from the shop owner, Marek, before, so I reached out and asked if I could pay for additional shipping to the US. He graciously agreed and sold me the antlers in addition to finding just the right box to ship them safely across the ocean.
They are one of my favorite things currently! They are just so impressive.
And, I have smaller antlers purchased from around the house. He sells most of the smaller antlers in sets of three, so it makes the shipping more cost-effective, you have an instant collection, and it’s cheaper than buying individual listings from other shops.
The set of antique antlers in the center are from MS Taxidermy, but the two little ones flanking it are made of resin. The faux antlers are a nice alternative if you are opposed to real antlers, but they are a bit smaller in size, as you can see.
Most of the antlers I have purchased from Marek’s shop are 80-100 years old and they all come from Europe. Some of the plaques have dates and place names written on them, which is always a bonus.
I have amassed a pretty nice collection now and I have them scattered throughout the house. I like hanging them above paintings or mixing them with antique plates. I love how they each have a personality and all of the wooden plaques are unique.
Some of the plaques are a rich, warm wood, others are painted or have painted details, and some are lighter woods that have faded with time and wear.
And each of the antlers has its own personality as well. I like the little ones, curly, misshapen, and asymmetrical just as much as I love the larger ones that are more “perfect” and developed.
I know not everyone is into antlers or taxidermy and that’s okay. I think, for me, my interest in them has grown as I’ve grown as an artist. I have seen in many artists that I’ve studied a correlation between drawing/painting and a fascination with the natural world. Artists are famous for their gardens as well as collections of natural curiosities like shells, feathers, leaves, twigs, rocks, fossils, and taxidermy.
I have no interest in hunting, but I don’t really have a need for it, either. When these antique antlers were harvested 80-100+ years ago, the primary goal was almost certainly food, and keeping the antlers to use as decoration was a bonus. And I love the ingenuity and resourcefulness of that. (As an aside, it reminds me of Where the Crawdads Sing and how Kya decorated her home with little bits and pieces she collected from nature. I enjoyed watching her house evolve in the movie and paused it once to tell Jeff that is exactly what I would do if I lived in a little cabin in the swamp. I would collect shells, bones, feathers, and such and see what I could make with them.)
Anyway, I do have to keep them up and away from Sebastian so he doesn’t think they are a chew toy for him! When we were staying with my parents, I had some of the antique antlers I purchased from in a box in the garage, and one day, Sebastian came into the house with an antler sticking out of his mouth. I told him to “drop it” and was getting ready to scold him for getting into my antique European antlers, but it turns out it was a natural antler chew toy a neighbor gave him when my mom took him out for a walk! I gave his treat back to him and told him he was a good dog.
So, if you like the look of antique European antlers as I do, MS Taxidermy is a great resource.
15 Responses
Marian,
When we went to the big Marburger antique show in Round Top, TX some years ago I do remember seeing quite a few booths with antique antlers. Since this area in the Texas Hill Country was settled by German immigrants from the 1800’s, I suspect many came from Germany.
I remember fondly going to a wonderful German restaurant outside of Petersburg, VA run by a German woman and her husband called The German Rathskeller. The property was a former motor court, and the restaurant was located in the big main lobby building with knotty pine paneling and of course there were antlers like yours on the walls. The owners passed away and the property was demolished but it was like going to a real authentic German home.
just went to his etsy shop but alas, he has no current listings. will have to check back. enjoyed your article
My husband is a hunter – needless to say we have not only antlers but heads with antlers 🤪. Thankfully they are at his office. I do have shed antlers I decorate with and enjoy them.
Those carvings are absolutely lovely. I wonder what else would look good mounted on them? I am a big collector of nature’s offerings. I live on lots of acreage that butts up to a State Park, so we see lots of deer as well as bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, foxes and even a cougar. I collect antlers that have been shed. I also collect interesting bones and feathers; lots of turkey feathers and if I’m lucky, owl. I was so jealous of the woman who recently shared her door camera footage of a moose shedding, and then the footage of her husband bringing in those antlers. (Are they also called antlers?)
I am not a huge fan of mounted animal heads or antlers, (even fake), but I can totally understand the culture of it; especially tied into old German roots. Some things just bring us comfort for the tangential stories they represent. I’m not sure if I’ll make it to Germany ever but if I do, I’m returning with a cuckoo clock and Lebkuchen. (The kind that is a gingerbread pretzel with dark chocolate. The Germans I’m related to are all about milk chocolate, but I am dark.)
We have hunters in our family. So, we have a deer head with antlers in our basement that my husband had mounted. I call him Buck and he is sort of a part of the family. I used to decorate him with the seasons when we first married. Years later, we had to rest him in the storage/catch-all room because my mother-in-law moved into the basement area of our house after my father-in-law died. She decorated her space and said she didn’t want Buck watching her all the time. Yet, in her down-sizing, she gave us an old portrait of her great-great-grandmother that has eyes that sort of watch. In fact, the lady who worked for her when my husband was a child would come into the house in the morning and drape a towel over the portrait before beginning to cook and clean! When we brought the portraits of the ancestors home, I propped them up in chairs and my husband immediately draped a towel over that one while it was leaned against the back of the chair. He said that he had the same feelings about her as Martha had years ago. Therefore, I’ve never hung them on the wall here. So, I’ve decided that years from now the portraits of the ancestors will hang alongside Buck (and some other taxidermy trophies) on a wall in the basement den area watching everything that goes on down there and the inherited family roll-top desk from those relatives will sit below them!
Beverly
that happens when the eyes of the paintings are centered
it makes the eyes look like they are following you
That is a wonderful collection. My husband and youngest son hunt so we have antlers as well, but I see a real appeal in the antique European mounts. We have some acreage and are constantly picking up rocks, fossils and other goodies. I have a shelf in my cabinet dedicated to the curiosities. They would probably take over the whole cabinet, but I have to have room for my ironstone.
That’s an interesting story!
I love these antlers with the black forest carving, too! The way you’ve mixed them in with your collection of plates is so lovely. I’ve lived in Germany and remember seeing them all over Europe and Great Britain. I didn’t buy any then but have bought some on eBay since being back in the states. They add such a nice European style to my home decor.
Marian,
I love this article! Two of my grandparents and my father Rheinhold were born in Prussia and modern day Germany. My father spoke fluent German and Russian and learned English as a child of six years in America. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Cologne, Germany in 1999 and other areas in 2000. I enjoyed staying in Bed and Breakfast’s; my husband not so much . I love the people and the food. I found a lovely leaf carving and I decorate around it for all seasons. The cities are incredibly clean and safe; even in the more industrialized areas there are flower boxes galore, very lovingly tended to.
Danke Schon for this post, I will definitely be shopping your sources!
Not a big antler fan. And I do not think they are decorative art. And do not care for dead animals hanging on walls either. There are so many other things to hang on walls like pretty pictures, plates and even framed articles to remember special events etc. And Marian it is so difficult to write comments to you or even view your posts due to all the ads ! Not Good ! !
Another day, another rude disrespectful comment from Irene Kelly.
I have always been curious about your antlers. It seemed incongruous with your other decor styles. Glad to finally know more about why you like them and how/why you have them displayed as you do. Thank you.
For those who like antlers but don’t want them from an animal that was hunted, it’s possible to find (or buy) naturally shed antlers.
I tried the sport of Shed Hunt with my Flat-Coated Retriever, where naturally shed antlers are hidden in a football-field sized area for dogs to find and retrieve. My particular dog loved hunting for them but didn’t like retrieving an object with pointy bits sticking out. I had bought a practice antler on Etsy to train with, and kept it because I find it beautiful.
Same with shells and feathers; their original owners are done with them, so why not bring them in to enjoy?
Marian,
It was when I saw your blog site years ago and the antlers you had displayed so beautifully that I started shopping for antlers. I have only 4 pieces in my home, but I love them, and I like how they make my wall art pop where they are hung.
Thank you for the source on Etsy. He doesn’t have anything to sell right now but I’ve listed him as a “favorite” so I will hear when he has some items again.
Karen B.