An Elephant and a Camel

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Artist: Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607–1677)
Medium: Etching
Size: Sheet: 5 7/8 x 8 3/8in. (14.9 x 21.3cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Camels, elephants, rhinoceroses, monkeys, and crocodiles brought to England as curiosities had long attracted attention as objects of both popular and scholarly interest. Camels had been known in England as early as the twelfth century, in the menagerie of Henry I at Woodstock, and the first elephant in England arrived in 1255. In 1623 a gift of an elephant and five camels was made to James I by the king of Spain, and in 1675 an elephant was sold at auction at Garraway’s coffee house in London and then exhibited to the public.

Francis Barlow, described by a contemporary as “the famous painter of fowle Beastes & Birds,” collaborated with Hollar in the production of a number of sets of natural history plates that served as sources for artists and craftsmen. Barlow also designed plates for several editions of Aesop’s Fables; two of his designs can be seen on the coffee cup and saucer on display nearby.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.