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F or centuries in Europe, trophy hunting was the exclusive domain of royalty. The sport of kings (and kaisers), the taking of large animals in the wild and mounting their horns and heads on the walls of royal hunting lodges was de rigueur. No royals were more passionate about hunting than Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, whose extraordinary personal trophies are available for purchase in Dallas at Pettigrew Fine Furnishings — inside a large, locked room. The Royal Hunt Collection is the largest known collection of Imperial German hunting trophies in private hands outside of Europe. It has been organized and marketed by Houston's Suzanne Coppola of Laurier Blanc and appraised by Tuscan-based longtime Antiques Road Show expert James Supp, who has valued it at more than $2.5 million. Consisting of about 430 pieces — mostly from the 1890s — The Royal Hunt Collection includes mounts from the Hapsburg and Hohenzollern dynasties, as well as the famed Rothschild and Eulenburg families and curated over a 40-year period by an anonymous Dallas collector who is a longtime member of the Dallas Safari Club and friend of Kaiser Wilhem's descendants, says Supp, who has devoted more than 100 hours to authenticating and tracing the provenance of each piece. The trophies are draped with royal medallions, coats of arms, crowns and wappen — helmet front plates of mostly WWI vintage that denote the regiment's province or state — or with officers' gorgets or veterans' medals. But despite the imperial connections, the trophies are surprisingly austere. "You have to understand, these guys were traipsing around in diamond-studded clothing with strict protocols to their everyday lives," Supp explains. "Hunting was their escape, and the insides of their hunting lodges … While they were still palaces, the decoration would be understated, masculine, simpler. It was their man cave." Some of the most spectacular pieces in the Royal Hunt Collection are an 11-foot-tall cross of St. Hubertus, the patron saint of hunting, which was originally installed in the chapel at the Imperial Rominten Hunting Lodge in East Prussia, and a pair of fallow deer mounts, notable for their matching antlers. Many of the trophies are red stags, the largest of the European deer. "The ones in this collection are huge," Supp says, with 20-or-more-point antlers and four-foot spreads "that are just enormous. You very rarely see deer that size any more." Coppola is collaborating with Pettigrew Fine Furnishings showroom in Dallas for a series of private viewings and cocktail receptions for interior designers and collectors. All interested parties may also view the collection by appointment. The collection opens to the public mid-January. For information and a printed catalog, 513.760.0040, suzanne@laurierblanc.com; online catalog royalhuntcollection.com. Pettigrew Fine Furnishings, Dallas Design District, 1805 Market Center Blvd., 214.747.2232. Stag PARTY BY REBECCA SHERMAN This giant red stag is one of the oldest in the collection, belonging to King Frederick William III of Prussia, 1770-1840 African Hunt collection piece from Tanga, presented to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wappenschild is of the Lion's Order Germany Colonial Service medal, 2nd class, mounted on sunburst. Eleven-foot-high St. Hubertus cross with 250-year-old hunting horn, commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II in honor of St. Hubertus. From the Eulenberg Hunt collection, a magnificent red stag from 1892 with the Prussian eagle wappenschild Vintage photograph depicting the Rothschild collection at an Austrian hunting estate Eleven-foot-high St. Hubertus cross with 250-year-old hunting horn, commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II in honor of St. Hubertus. C L A S S I C E URO PE A N A ND E A R LY A M E R I C A N A N T I Q UE S Featuring the collections of 2 Lucy's Antiques, Leighton Hale Antiques and Designs by Grace 8570 Katy Freeway, Suite 111, Houston, T X 77024 713.827.9292 | backrowantiques.com LIVE LIVE Client: Back Row Creative Director: K. BABB Designer / Art Director: K. BABB Bleed: n/a Copywriter: B. FOGARTY Trim: n/a Proofreader: N. TUCKER Live: 5.065" x 8.55" Studio Artist: LUIS ARRIAGADA Inspected By: Colors: 4/c Production Manager: C. CAPOSINO DPI: 300 Project Manager: 003809_PaperCity_Nov_2014_Mech.indd Revision: 0 Created: 10.15.14 Printed at 100% MECHANICAL 2439 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77098 713.520.7167 www.spacesforhome.com