Naturalized Wild Boar Hunting Trophy

European wild boar hunting trophy. Naturalized on an oak coat of arms. Very good overall condition. Dimensions: height- 61 cm width- 46 cm  depth- 42 cm. Certificate of authenticity. Originating from a castle in Maine-et-Loire. Beautiful 20th-century taxidermy work. International shipping available.

Although relatively rarely depicted in rock paintings and engravings, archaeologists know that the wild boar was hunted during prehistory. It is possible that in recent millennia, as hunter-gatherer human populations developed, it benefited from the decline of large predators such as the cave lion, the saber-toothed tiger, and the cave bear. Among the Indo-Europeans, the wild boar symbolizes the priestly caste, while the bear corresponds to the warrior caste. The wild boar is the third Avatar (descent, incarnation) of the god Vishnu, Varaha, who was responsible for saving the Earth goddess (his wife) from a demon in the waters of a flood. It is therefore a particularly sacred animal in India. The symbolism of the boar is very rich among the Celts but also present, and in a widespread way in Indo-European myths: Mycenaean Greece, Vedic India, among the Germans suggesting a common origin. It represents strength and courage but also knowledge and has a connection with the afterlife. The Celts consider it a sacred animal. Boar heads adorn weapons and its meat accompanies the deceased on their final journey. Its role is similar to that of the bull in the mythologies of the origins of Europe. The boar is therefore the attribute of the druids and some even called themselves "sanglie". The fourth of the 12 labors of Hercules was to bring back the Erymanthian boar alive. In the West, in Roman, Germano-Gallic and Gallo-Roman antiquity, its hunting seems to have been particularly valued. In Celtic religion, it was the food of heroes gathered from the gods. The animal was considered courageous and strong and would fight to the bitter end. Hunting it became a battle between the warrior and the animal, a single combat where the human had to endure the cries, the blows and the smell of the "beast". Defeating it was then a feat. These qualities were also recognized among the Romans as well as the Germans, who seem to have made boar hunting an essential initiation ritual for the warrior to become free and adult. The Celts made it a game of kings and a symbolic hunt. This tradition continued throughout the High Middle Ages, but was reversed around the 13th century, first in France and England and then in Italy and Germany in the following centuries. The boar and its hunting were gradually devalued. The boar was no longer the game of kings and princes; it lost this quality to the deer, which was opposed to it. One reason is that since wild boar hunting requires little space, unlike deer hunting, the great lords would have "left" its hunting to the less important lords. Deer hunting would have become a way to stand out for lords with forests large enough to allow it. The other main reason for this devaluation was the "propaganda" of the Church. The qualities of the wild boar praised in Antiquity made it, for the Church, the animal of the pagans, even the animal of the devil. The Church will turn all its qualities into defects, and its strength and courage become ferocity. The deer, to which it also opposes it, has all the virtues: it is the Christ of animals. Over time, and more recently, wild boar hunting also became the means of getting rid of dangerous animals that damage crops. In Chinese astrology, the wild boar is considered a particularly auspicious sign and a pledge of loyalty. W