Victorian Anthropomorphic Squirrel Taxidermy Diorama

This is a rare and intricate Victorian-style anthropomorphic taxidermy display featuring five squirrels arranged in a social tableau around a miniature wooden table. The squirrels are depicted engaging in human-like activities, including playing cards and smoking from a pipe. The taxidermy work shows the characteristic reddish-brown fur, tufted ears, and bushy tails of European red squirrels. They are positioned in dynamic, upright poses that demonstrate high-level taxidermy skill from the late 19th to early 20th century. The scene is enclosed in a rectangular glass-fronted shadow box case with a black painted wooden frame featuring gold-leaf Chinoiserie-style floral scrollwork along the edges. Inside, miniature accessories such as tiny glass bottles, decanters, and playing cards add significant narrative detail. The condition shows some signs of high antiquity; there is visible fading to the fur pigments, and the background landscape painting is muted. The wooden case exhibits some edge wear and loss to the decorative gilding, consistent with an item of this age. The construction uses naturalistic elements like dried moss and bark for the base of the scene, which was a hallmark of the Walter Potter school of taxidermy. Such pieces are highly collectible examples of the Victorian 'Curiosity' aesthetic, representing a fusion of natural history and whimsical folk art.