The Victorians held conflicting views about nature. Sentimental about pets, they admired the majesty of wild animals, yet had no hesitation in hunting and stuffing specimens. Fascinated by the discoveries of explorers, they collected and catalogued everything, from rocks and butterflies to the tribes of India. They believed that by mapping the world they could gain the knowledge to control it. Darwin's evolutionary theory and the evidence of dinosaur fossils forced the Victorians to question established views about the origins of life, and mankind's relationship with the natural world. Religious and scientific debates about evolution encouraged popular enthusiasm for natural history, and interest in landscape painting. John Ruskin inspired artists to learn from nature, as a way of honouring God's creation. The natural world also inspired a design revolution. Plant and animal forms decorated all kinds of manufactured goods in original styles that owed nothing to historicism. At the same time, however, the British landscape was being changed by industrialisation, modern farming methods, and the exotic plants introduced by explorers.

Trophy hunting was promoted at the very highest levels of Victorian society. The Prince of Wales was an avid huntsman at home and abroad, indulging his passion for tiger hunting during visits to India. His sporting parties at Sandringham could bag 3,000 head of game in a single season.

Stalking and shooting large animals such as tigers, elephants or deer implied a respect for the intelligence and dignity of the wild creature, as well as an assumption of man's superiority. The collection and display of preserved specimens underlined this attitude. Hunting expeditions, whether in Scotland, Africa or Asia, also demonstrated the wealth and leisure of the Victorian upper classes.

The use of animal parts in furniture, jewellery and costume was part of the Victorian desire for novelty. It was also another way of collecting, controlling and displaying the vast treasures of the natural world, which were being studied and explored by Victorian scientists. This chair was an innovative, if uncomfortable, way to use trophy stag antlers.

Antler horn chair with velvet cover, attributed to Rampendahl, c. 1840

Cat in a Cottage Window', by Ralph Hedley, 1881; Oil on canvas

In the Victorian era the dog was far and away the most popular domestic pet, with many new breeds being introduced into Britain. As a result, dogs feature in many paintings and books, often depicted with degree of sentimentality. By contrast, cats were not particularly popular and so images of cats by Victorian artists are unusual. Hedley's cat, framed by potted plants and wild roses, reflect the romantic vision of cottage life current in the 1880s.