Mastodon Feed: Post

Mastodon Feed

Boosted by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
adapalmer@wandering.shop ("Ada Palmer") wrote:

Lorenzo de Medici had a pet giraffe. Its name was Giraffe, because it was *the only* giraffe, the first giraffe in Europe since the days of Augustus. It was a gift to Lorenzo from the Sultan of Egypt, in thanks for some trade deals and diplomacy that helped the Sultan in his war against Venice. 3/?

Detail of the giraffe from another Florentine Renaissance painting, where it towers above camels and exotic attendants in the back of a crowd scene.