Collection Name: Black Box Series
Artist: Peter Calvesbert
Made In: England
Status: Limited
Carving Date: 1999
Release Date: 1/1/2000
Edition Size: 5000
Dimensions (Inches): 3 x 1.75 x 3.25
Secrets:
Mother Nature's version of a tank, the formidable rhinoceros knows no predator other than humankind. Poachers have hunted the tough-skinned beasts nearly to extinction for the sake of their horns, which have supposed medicinal properties. In this box figurine, the rhinos exact their revenge by harvesting human noses. The newspaper headline notes, "Manilow and Pinocchio Missing" - could they be prime targets for nose poachers? One of the rhinos has shot Peter in the foot with a gun called "Old Rhinoblasty," a take on "rhinoplasty," or the ubiquitous nose job. "AK74" is inscribed on the butt of the rifle, a favoured weapon of terrorists and poachers. The vulture keeps an eye out for any spare noses for lunch, and a bag of freshly picked noses rests under Peter's foot. Around the base are the names of rhino species with the numbers of each believed to exist. In one interior compartment are four human skulls. In the second, some of the animals from Ed's Safari bus seek refuge.