Y ou might have thought taxidermy would play no part in modern home decoration – but far from it, it's selling better than ever.

At Moore Allen and Innocent's biannual sporting sale at Norcote this month, the bird of paradise seen here, in a naturalistic setting which might or might not replicate the rainforests of New Guinea, sold at double its lower estimate at £600.

The presidential looking bald eagle was also in demand, fetching a mid-estimate £400.

And then there was the mastiff from Victorian times, which was once the mascot of a glass factory in the North and had the kind of look that might have qualified him to sell insurance on TV in a later age.

He was estimated at £200-£300 but eventually landed a winning bid of £420.

Three rather more distinguished looking dogs resting in a moorland landscape made the day's top price of £1,200. In oil on canvas, the painting was signed by the Victorian artist Thomas Blinks, some of whose sporting works are in the Queen's collection.

In the fishing section, The Erne, Its Legends and Its Fly Fishing, by the Rev H Newland in 1851, made a remarkable £640.

And among antique fishing reels, the catch of the day at £520 was a Hardy Silex Major 3.5 inch salmon spinning reel, complete with the maker's stamped block leather case.

Finally, a Louis Vuitton suitcase with leather strapping and brass locks and clasps from some 90 years ago sold for £520 against a top estimate of £500.

Which seems quite a good deal when you remember the label's modern equivalent would put you back just shy of £4,000.