Van Ingen & Van Ingen
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Taxidermy |
| Founded | 1890s in Mysore, India |
| Founder | Eugene Van Ingen |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | Mysore , India |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Eugene Van Ingen, DeWet Van Ingen, Botha Van Ingen, Joubert Van Ingen |
| Products | Taxidermy mounts (tiger, leopard, bears, lions, ungulates, African game) |
| Owner | Van Ingen family |
Number of employees | 150+ (Peak period (1930s–1960s)) |
Van Ingen & Van Ingen, also referred to as Van Ingen or Van Ingen of Mysore (operating from 1900 to 1999), were prominent Indian taxidermists located in Mysore, South India. They gained renown for their expertise in mounting tiger and leopard trophies, having processed upwards of 43,000 such specimens over nearly a century. Their craftsmanship is internationally esteemed, encompassing various forms such as head mounts, full-body mounts, and animal rugs featuring attached heads.
Catering to both Indian Maharajas and global aristocracy, Van Ingen & Van Ingen were celebrated for producing highly realistic hunting trophies marked by exceptional precision and detail throughout their years of operation.
Origins
The company was established by Eugene Van Ingen in the 1890s and evolved into a family enterprise when his sons DeWet, Botha, and Joubert joined the business. Joubert Van Ingen oversaw the firm until its official closure in 1995, with limited activities continuing until 1999.
Craftsmanship
Renowned for superior workmanship, Van Ingen & Van Ingen developed bespoke moulds, mannikins, glass eyes, tongues, teeth, and whiskers to maintain uniformity in their big cat mounts. Their distinctive "snarling" open-mouth look was crafted using specialized head moulds featuring unique nose grooves.
The glass eyes were sourced from Germany and meticulously hand-painted for each individual mount. The company’s capacity to create mounts in a variety of sizes and postures—from simple head mounts to full life-sized representations—ensured consistent excellence throughout their product line.
Peak Period
During its most prosperous years, Van Ingen & Van Ingen ranked among the world’s largest taxidermy enterprises. Between the 1930s and late 1960s, they handled over 400 tiger trophies annually. Their range extended beyond tigers and leopards to include bears, lions, other large felines, ungulate species, and African game animals.
Their clientele included film celebrities, viceroys, and high-ranking military officers; notably, at least one-third of their commissions came from Indian royalty. Employing more than 150 staff across divisions such as cleaning, skinning, salting, mounting, carpentry, finishing, and decorating enabled them to manage large-scale production efficiently. Although the business experienced decline following the prohibition of hunting in India during the late 1960s, it maintained limited operations until ceasing completely in 1999.
Enduring Impact
In 2004, Pat Morris traveled to Mysuru to document what remained of the taxidermy firm and met Joubert Van Ingen, the last surviving member of its management team. Morris authored the 2006 volume Van Ingen & Van Ingen - Artists in Taxidermy, which explores the company’s heritage, intricate craftsmanship, and status as one of the largest taxidermy firms worldwide. This work features photocopies of original factory logbooks that provide detailed records of wild leopard and tiger specimens preserved by the company.
This publication continues to serve as the definitive reference on Van Ingen & Van Ingen, drawing extensively from primary factory archives that illustrate the once vast wildlife collections maintained by the firm.
Among the founding brothers, De Wet Van Ingen (now deceased) is noted for holding the record for the largest Mahseer caught using a rod. A replica of this fish was gifted to the Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH) by Joubert. Additionally, RMNH houses an important permanent exhibit featuring numerous taxidermy mounts created by Van Ingen & Van Ingen.[1]
Van Ingen & Van Ingen in the Present Day
Taxidermy pieces crafted by Van Ingen continue to be highly prized by private collectors and museums across the globe, occasionally coming up for sale at auction venues in Britain where they command significant prices.
Beyond the foundational research conducted by P.A. Morris, there is limited documentation available about this once-prominent taxidermy enterprise. The Van Ingen workshop located in Mysuru, India is now abandoned and engulfed by vegetation. The final surviving family member, Edwin Joubert Van Ingen, born in 1912, passed away in 2013 at the age of 101.
It is important to note that a number of Van Ingen taxidermy specimens were destroyed in the fire that occurred at New Delhi’s National Museum of Natural History in April 2016.
See also
Further reading
- Morris, Pat A., Van Ingen & Van Ingen: Artists in Taxidermy, MPM Publishing Ascot, 2006, ISBN 0-9545596-3-0
- Morris, Pat A., A History of Taxidermy: Art, Science and Bad Taste, MPM Publishing Ascot, 2006, ISBN 978-0-9564873-1-5
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1