Zulu-Mounts

A Zulu mount is a trophy presented on a hand-carved wooden shield, shaped after the tall pointed oval of a Zulu warrior’s shield, and we carve every one in our own workshop so no two are alike. The shield is the platform rather than the point: it will carry a single shoulder or pedestal mount, or several skull mounts arranged together, finished with inlaid strips of contrasting timber and hide, crossed assegai behind the panel and a small brass plaque for each animal. A wall shield hangs like any other mount and needs no floor at all, while a floor shield stands on its own on a double-tier base cut in the shape of the African continent — a freestanding piece for a room where the walls are already full. It is the most natural way we know to present a set rather than a single animal: the black, white and common impala together on one wall shield, a full springbok slam of black, white, copper and common, or a blesbok and a black wildebeest skull on a floor shield reading as one considered piece rather than two trophies looking for space. The name describes the shape we carve, not a claim to be a traditional artefact — these are our own pieces, made by our carpentry team, using the silhouette of the Zulu shield because it suits an African trophy better than a plain wooden panel does. What has made them popular is that they sit comfortably in a room that is not a dedicated trophy room, reading as much like furniture as like taxidermy.