THREE rare cased dioramas of African birds have sold for a combined hammer price of £29,500 in the natural history and taxidermy sale at Tennants of Leyburn.

They were prepared by taxidermists Ashmead & Co. of London between 1865 and 1880 and rarely have three such cases from an original commission been kept together for so long.

Tennants’ specialist Robbie Bright said: "These really were dioramas of exceptional quality, and many of the species they contain rarely come up for auction.

"We knew they would do well and they had much interest ahead of sale, but we are delighted to achieve such strong results for traditional taxidermy.’

The cases contain examples of African birds that are rarely seen at auction, such as the large secretarybirds, a blue crane, a jackal buzzard and juvenile black storks.

They were commissioned by a wealthy British family who lived in Mysore in southern India.