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ZARAFA, ITALIAN CREAMWARE FIGURE c.1835









£465

 

  ZARAFA, ITALIAN CREAMWARE FIGURE c.1835 £465  
Towards the end of 1823 to 27 France was in a Giraffe craze with the arrival of Zarafa female Nubian giraffe who lived in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris for 18 years. A gift from Muhammad Ali of Egypt to King Charles X of France, she was one of three giraffes Muhammad Ali sent to European rulers in 1827. These were the first giraffes to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, since the Medici giraffe was sent to Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence in 1486.
She over-wintered in Marseilles, along with the Drovetti's Sudanese servant Atir, She set out on 20 May 1827. The trip to Paris took 41 days. She was a spectacle in each town she passed through, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Orange, Montelimar and Vienne. She arrived in Lyon on 6 June, where she was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of 30,000
She was presented to the King at the chateau of Saint-Cloud in Paris on 9 July 1827, and took up residence in the Jardin des Plantes, Zarafa's arrival in Paris caused a sensation. Over 100,000 people came to see her.Zarafa remained in Paris for a further 18 years until her death, attended to the end by Atir. Her corpse was stuffed and displayed in the foyer of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris for many years, before being moved to the Museum of Natural History of La Rochelle, where it remains.
A RARE ITALIAN CREAMWARE POTTERY FIGURE OF ZARAFA AND ATTENDANT by CONTIERO, ESTE, 2nd quarter 19th century. impressed mark for the Contiero factory.
Height an impressive 30 cm



 

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