I am unschooled and unsophisticated in the art of taxidermy. I thought all heads were mounted on decorative wooden plaques, but now I see this is not the case when I look around at examples of head mounts. Some heads are mounted on a wood plaque and others are not.

Is there any reason why some heads are mounted on a plaque and others are not? Do heads look better mounted on a wooden plaque and people are just saving some money by passing up the plaque option? How do you decide to mount the head on a plaque or not?

My question is not purely academic. I called the taxidermist recently and was told that my son's pronghorn antelope cape, along with the capes of all their customers, had been received (presumably from the tanners) Friday January 7. We have never discussed a plaque for this mount, but I'm guessing that the default mount would omit the plaque and that I would have to pay extra for the plaque. I want to make an explicit decision -- and a decision based on an informed judgment -- about whether to mount the pronghorn head on a dark wooden plaque or not. I figure there is still time to request the wooden plaque at this time if I decide this is the way to go.

So what is the story on wooden plaques and head mounts?