On the Pierre and Marie Curie campus, in the zoology collection, a deer head is so well mounted and preserved that it looks as if it could come to life. His eyes are bright, though artificial, and his ears are tuned to listen. Its short, unbranched antlers indicate that it is a yearling, i.e. a one-year-old male.

Apart from its appearance, this specimen had a nice surprise in store, discovered when the collection was moved inside the campus in 2017. Invisible at first glance, on the edge of the neck, there are a few lines written on a newspaper page to tell us his story.

This head was shown at the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1855, which gives it a unique status. Its author, Mr Lefèvre, was awarded a 1st Class medal in the category 'Hygiene, Pharmacy, Medicine and Surgery'. Unfortunately, the taxidermist's first name is illegible. One might guesses 'Aug' (Augustus?), but no one can say for certain. Publications from the end of the 19th century refer to a man named Lefèvre who had a very busy naturalisation house (Huet, 1892). Is it the same taxidermist? From one of his descendants? In any case, the house was famous for selling game heads mounted on cardboard dummies.

To top it all off, the last line tells us that the animal was killed by the Emperor. It is enough to refer to the date of the assembly to understand that this was Napoleon III, a hunting enthusiast. So the head turned out to be a real box of surprises, previously unnoticed within the collection! But questions arise: how did it get to the University? Was it a gift from the Emperor himself? From a third party? Or a purchase? The mystery remains almost solved..

By Thibault Pellissier, Intern Master 2 'Museums and New Media', Sorbonne Nouvelle and Santiago Aragon, Head of the Zoology Collection of Sorbonne University

Data sheet

• Name : Naturalised deer head(Capreolus capreolus).
• Inventory number : 33-C-3
• Description : Skin and wood mounted on cardboard (w. 31 cm; h. 33 cm; d. 25 cm).
• Date : 1855
• Place of storage : Zoology collection

Bibliography

• Exposition Universelle. 1855. Paris. Rapports du Jury mixte international, published under the direction of H.I.H. Prince Napoléon, president of the imperial commission, Imprimerie impériale, 1856.
• Huet. J., "Notes sur le montage et la préparation des grands animaux. Le Chenil, le poulailler & l’écho de l’élevage réunis", Journal hebdomadaire illustré du Jardin Biologique d’Acclimatation, n° 10, 1892, p.110-111.

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