Eeek !!

Ummmm. NO on the grotesque angry boar head. Really... That is a total turnoff.

Looks like you're in the mountains. I think it's kind of cool. Perhaps put it above the window next to your fireplace?

The boar in the picture reminds me of the wolf Gmork from the movie "The Neverending Story". :-)

Not a fan......hang it in the closet!

It has been done:


https://www.houzz.com/magazine/a-gallery-wall-for-every-personality-stsetivw-vs~538039
Or you can just frame the old guy!

NO, no, no...Keep the wild boar head! Adds character!

I really think it all depends on your personality. Would your family and friends think it is "so you" or would they be like those kids in the travel ad, screaming like Kevin in Home Alone?

The "once upon a time" room above posted by pattiegoode shows how it can be done and have it work in an unexpected and creative way. But to just hang them on the wall for no reason or purpose would be --Fail!

Hide him in the artwork. Don't make him front and center above the fireplace.

I believe it's doable. I like the idea of framing him--maybe a thick black frame. If you decide to put him in the gallery, you should consider some hunting pics disbursed throughout. As big as he is, there should be something else to tie him in. I should tell you also, we have a separate den and it's kind of the man cave-surrounded with deer trophies (one over the fireplace) and hunting pictures. I've told my husband none in the living room or dining room.

Great idea. Looks good with black forest styling, guilded frames, modern bits for an ironic touch...lots of ways to go.

What might be cool also is to get some vintage hunting pics. and intersperse along with things unrelated to the boar...

I think he could look really great in a gallery wall. I like the Olivers House example above.

I think you should have made tamales out of it instead of stuffing it. I'd stuff it in the closet if it were mine. It makes me sad. Enjoy your new home.

If you really want to display interesting artwork then I wouldn't include the Boar's head as I think it will detract from the artwork and take center stage. I do think you could hang it on a different wall in the same room.

Yikes. People still do this? Kinda scary. But it is your house do what you want.

One of the coolest lofts I ever have been was a client who collected mid century modern furniture and had taxidermy mixed in -artistically along with these abstract paintings-
It was so fresh and I just loved it. It makes the taxidermy into something more sculpture like.

People not only still do it, it is on the uptick! Lock up your pets, people!!

I think looking at the responses it's a no to the boar - but at the end of the day - it's your home and your decision.... But I just want to throw an idea into the mix ... Is there a downstairs powder room that you can position him in ? As he will make an excellent talking point at dinner parties, if he is an unexpected onlooker in the loo, rather than displayed for all to see !! Have fun !!!!

I think if taxidermy means something to you, then you dang well hang it in your home. It obviously doesn't make the hunter who killed it sad, it is likely a reminder of an extraordinary experience. I will assume you are asking for ways to incorporate it, not whether or not something that is totally acceptable in many parts of the country is "okay' with a bunch of people who obviously don't get it and never will.

I love your idea of gallery wall, especially if it includes some wildlife, outdoorsy, hunting themes and or some form of story theme. I love the frame idea and am officially stealing it when I hang some of my husband's fondest memories on the wall. I think the main way you pull off your idea is that you must have some additional three dimensional elements on the wall, like the Olivers house. Piggles can't be the only item that sticks out, literally.

There is a wonderful taxidermist in San Francisco that does incredible art pieces...Jeanne M. check this OUT!


http://www.mouseangel.com/

Mr Ironwood! Please tell me you don't have dead things hanging on your walls! I think the boar would look better on a plate than the wall. The mouse-adermy angel is...kind of cute...in an odd sort of way...

Naw kimdee...I eat dead things and don't display them. Mouse-adermy is weird..but it is art... Planning a pig hunt for fall (after Halloween). Feral pigs are a big problem here...I have visions of prosciutto, salumi and apple wood smoked bacon!

mneust, I agree with all the comments so far. :) It's your home, your preference. How about hang it there for a while, see if you like it, see what kind of feedback you get from your visitors. It can be just like any other things you hang on your wall -- does not have to be permanent. :)

I could tolerate a porcelain/china wall mounted animal head but not the dead wall mounted kind.

My husband is an avid archer and amateur taxidermist, so we have several wildlife mounts in our rustic lake home. A snarling wild boar wouldn't be my first choice of specimens to display, but I do think it can be tastefully done. I like the combination of photos and ledges in this example.

10 years ago, I would have said "In the closet!" Today, I can appreciate the effort, skill and overall "art" of this sort. Follow your heart, frame the boar, add a few personal related "adventure" items along with abstract art or anything else you love! You will need a few other large pieces combined with smaller items to keep it all in sync. Old iron works well, old traps, snowshoes, vintage sconce (could even have crystals) etc., add the art, photos, and you have a great conversation wall.

Seems like most people are at least open to the idea...I say it would add a cool element given the right mix. My opinion is don't do it or not do it to please other people. If people go away from your house saying, "Did you see that?", so be it. If it makes you happy, do it!
Studio 10001...That comment is not only counterproductive, it's insulting. I'm a hunter and I know lots of other hunters. I don't know one who has ever intentionally or unintentionally shot someones' pet. We don't wantonly slaughter helpless animals and we're not the monsters some make us out to be. The animals we pursue are honored by displaying their beauty (whether they look beautiful to you or not) and to commemorate a meaningful experience.
In addition, if you ever eat meat you're being hypocritical...The slaughter houses that you get your meat from are mechanized horror houses...The places and ways I get my meat, as a hunter, are beautiful and humane...So please, let's hold the disparaging comments and stick to home decorating...

Wasn't intended to be anti-hunting ,or about hunting, or taken seriously; easy to tell if you read my other comments and likes. I agree about disparaging comments.

Wow! I had no clue that this would create such a great dialogue. Thanks for all the imput. I do like the frame idea, so maybe I'll play around with that. I also think making him not the only 3D item might makes sense. As someone above mentioned, its not permanent. I do tend to be drawn towards the more unexpected, different, and nontraditional when it comes to things around the home. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Again, a ton of great ideas here.
Also, as a side note, I didn't hunt this guy myself. I inherited him from my Grandfather a few years ago. He had it for decades. Kind of a strange heirloom, but there you go.

Hope you'll show the final result (he looks good for his age!).

Ironwood, I checked out the mouse art! very different and interesting. After living in a 1880 log cabin for 15 years I can relate to mouse art!

Not sure about the boar, but we did use a water buffalo once!

Just rec'd my Summer catalog from Vivaterra-a favorite- Wanted to let you know they are showing wall mounted game in a contemporary style format available to order - In Paper Mache'!! You've got the real thing!

Studio 10001...My apologies. There are so many that don't understand the hunting tradition and are quick to judge something they have no idea about...Kind of makes me maybe a little defensive...I'll give you a little chuckle on your comment... :^)

Because taxidermy is "beauty in the eye of the beholder", I suggest you hang your guy in a den. There is a GREAT possibility that many of your guests would prefer to see your art collection.

Not for me, but different strokes.....

Seems like the boar might be too big for over the fireplace. What are the other walls in the room? You said this isn't your boar. Is yours bigger or smaller or about the same. If you use it, I think you might want to keep the room looking a bit more rustic. If you bagged that boar, I'm sure you're quite proud of it and have stories to tell. My guess is the company you keep is of like mind and would be impressed with it. It's a great start for your room!

have you considered hanging the boar's head out of doors,on an exterior wall. It could be a detriment for unwanted intruders. An alarm system, sorta' :) Upon seeing the boar;s head the intruder/s would yell EEK EEK EEK etc.scaring away any possible problems. Just an idea :)

accepted, prior1.

The Boar's head isn't the most elegant of animals to display thus making it a bit difficult to fit into a room unless blended with other pieces in a game room. I think it would throw off your gallery wall. I would hang it in a hallway surrounded by hunting pictures of the same size of the boar.

I think that there are many individuals who would find this kind of decor offensive

NOOOOOO! Please no dead animals on the walls!

...
Well, haven't you thwacked the hornet's nest, mnuest23!?!

As as an artist I've always liked boars' heads — I find them dramatic and strange, not repulsive...but to each his/her own... Your post prompted me to google around a little and led to this gem: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/us-pig-population-an-ecological-disaster/538 which (in addition to some hilarious quotes) informs us that *millions* of wild pigs in the U.S. pose a $4 billion per year menace. Their worst transgression, in my opinion, is that they dig up endangered sea turtle nests and eat the eggs! Now, I take no pleasure in killing anything, not even ants or dandelions, but I think it's safe to say, in this particular case, that the greater good is served by turning feral boars into taxidermy.

It's cool that it's an heirloom from your grandfather too...I say hang it!

Check out artist Kate Clark's work http://www.kateclark.com/sculpture004.html — she puts a human face on the taxidermy debate ;-)

It's 6 months to Halloween.

The alternative to hanging the item, if this isn't working out for you, is to take it to a taxidermist and ask them to mount it on a pedestal. Then you can place it in any room.

Haha ShelleyUK, eeeeek, was my response as well!

I say don't be a boar...bore...hang the thing where you choose. I find the 'fake' wildlife skulls and horns much more obnoxious than the real thing. As a wildlife biologist, I find it discouraging to see people turn their backs on the fact that life and death are intertwined. In an age when 9 out of 10 folks I know won't even handle the pre-cut chicken they eat, until after it's cooked, I believe hanging plastic versions of wildlife skulls on walls is a step too far from our roots and continued dependence on other lives to continue our lives. By the way, I'm a 50+ woman with a law degree as well as a certified wildlife biologist. I actually saw a wild boar in France - it was a magnificent wild animal in life. Now that this animal is dead, make the best and fullest use of it that you can! That includes hanging it's head proudly over your loo, as one suggested above, among your hunting rifles or fishing gear on the walls of your den, in a library with your collection of books on ecology, natural history and art, or in the dining room where you'll be consuming other animals (unless your a vegan) and other formerly living plants as well. We've become far to squeamish and more than a bit hypocritical about the fact that we eat to live, just like other creatures.

How would you dust it?

I renovated a number of animal mounts when I was an undergraduate in Biology (it was a donated collection of everything from water buffalo to a full polar bear). We vacuumed the heads and repaired cracks in the areas around the eyes and nostrils with bee's wax (you can soften it by working it between your fingers to warm it) worked into the cracks and then painted carefully with oil paint of proper color to match the area. Horns and tusks can be cleaned with something like Murphy's oil soap and can be wiped with a soft cloth. Don't get the hair wet and don't handle too roughly as skins dry out and might begin to shed if not handled with TLC. Finally, old mounts from before the 80's often used highly toxic materials to prevent insect damage (arsenic for example). So don't dismantle a mount and, if beyond repair, dispose of it responsibly. Good luck!

Sally, thanks so much for the cleaning and repair tips!