The iguanas could’ve been chameleons, blending in so well among the other stuff crammed on the auction table, all crying out for my attention. I was taking my time, though, moving stuff around in the boxes, looking for that something whose voice was louder than the rest.
Then I looked up at eye level and saw the iguana on the second tier of the table. It was perched near the top of a piece of driftwood, its feet and claws curved around the trunk, its long tail like a whip down the side. It was green in color, scaly in texture and as fierce-looking as it would’ve been if it were real.
It was a sculpture made of a material I did not recognize but later learned was probably a type of resin. And this iguana wasn’t the only one. Equidistant on the table were two others also in the process of climbing a limb. One was green and the other blue – all big, long and very detailed.
“Aren’t these strange?” I said to an auction-goer. “What’s strange,” he replied, “is there’s three of them.”
This was the first time I’d seen an iguana sculpture at auction, much less multiples of them. I’d never even seen a mounted iguana, but I’ve come across many other types of mounted animals.
These three iguanas were not alone. Three others were on a different table – two stretched out on driftwood and another in a climb. Situated next to them were two colorful but aggressive-looking dragons that appeared to be made of the same material. I wondered if they all had belonged to one owner or if the auction house had cleaned out a store.
As I stood there bewildered, another auction-goer joked: “That’s just what I want.” Then seriously: “Why would anyone want it in their house,” he said.
I had the same thought. What would you do with it? Put it in a country-style den? Put it in your man cave? It felt so southwestern that I wondered who’d want it in this part of the country.
A lot of people apparently go for the real thing. Iguanas are among the most popular pets, according to one site, and the most dumped pets, according to another. I assume people buy them for their exotic look – they are tropical and can be found in Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Fiji and Madagascar. They can generally grow up to six feet in length and weigh up to 15 pounds. When well cared for, they can live up to 20 years.
Several websites offered advice on how to maintain them and keep them alive. One site even offered a list of questions to ask yourself if you’re considering buying one.
On the web, I found iguanas stuffed as toys, mounted on tree branches, worn around the neck as a necklace and painted as artwork. One of the most famous was a 40-foot sculpture called Iggy created by artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade in the 1970s. For years it had sat atop the Lone Star Café in New York until the bar closed in 1989.
Two years ago, Iggy was refurbished and is now atop the hospital building at the Fort Worth Zoo.
When I think of iguanas, the Richard Burton movie “The Night of the Iguana” comes to mind. I’m not sure, though, if I’ve ever watched the movie.
At auction, the iguana sculptures were relatively popular. The green ones sold for $20 each and the blue ones for $30 each. A green one straddling a horizontal limb sold for $40.
The highest price of the day went to an iguana stretched out on a slanted tree branch with its tail curved. I watched as the bidding climbed, with the winner taking it home for $60.
He bought it for his wife, the buyer said, as he carefully walked away with it in his arms. “She picked it out,” he said, “the most expensive one today.”
The dragons sold for $25 and $35. How would you incorporate these into your decor? Or would you?
