Melchior Lorck: A Giraffe (1559)

(Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland)

A print made by the Danish-German artist Melchior Lorck (1526/27 - after 1583). Melchior Lorck was part of an embassy send by holy Roman emperor Ferdinand I to Constantinople (Istanbul) to negotiate a settlement over Hungary over which both parties claimed supremacy. During his stay in Constantinople Melchior made lots of drawings of monuments of the city, animals, people and military units. This print shows a giraffe which Melchior saw during his stay. According to the text the animal was named 'Surnappa' and was taller than 5 people standing on each other. Print from 1559.