Napoleonic Prisoner Of War Guillotine Carved Out Of Mutton Bone

Today we’ve got a very interesting antique and piece of art that certainly strays away from the norm. The New Orleans based MS Rau Antiques always has hundreds of amazing things for sale and today this Napoleonic prisoner of war carved guillotine. It looks like this poor soul had a lot of time on his talented hands and was able to carve this thing entirely out of mutton bone. This is a work of pure talent and skill not only for its masterful build, but also the fact that POWs had to use makeshift tools to craft it as they were allowed very little in their cells.

This antique is said to be from around the year 1810 and it stands nearly two feet tall, and includes many pieces within it. If you start counting you’ll end up with twenty-seven soldiers and twenty-four cannons found throughout this art piece. Despite being made from mutton bone, the soldiers can move their tiny little arms and that guillotine does have a blade that moves up and down. The artist even made a tiny decapitated head that fits perfectly into the catch bucket…how quaint.

This particular piece is even more rare due to the fact that these pieces from the time period rarely have survived the test of time. There are a few art pieces like it found in museums, but nothing really close to this size and level of craftsmanship which is why you’ll find this one has a price tag of $48,500 USD for it all. It certainly is a wondrous piece of art that is often highly sought after, especially one of such high quality and attention to detail.



