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http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=257528 http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=257528 > Notes: The text refers to elephants
by burkaman 5y ago
http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=257528 http://corsair.themorgan.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=257528
> Notes: The text refers to elephants; the miniature may be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the standard Bestiary image of the elephant battling a dragon.
Seems to be speculation that the artist saw an image like https://64.media.tumblr.com/07d4ec88f9250ff97d244dd316bd5e2e/tumblr_p51419Xocc1qm6vs3o1_500.jpg https://64.media.tumblr.com/07d4ec88f9250ff97d244dd316bd5e2e... or had it described to them, and didn't really understand it but knew it was called an elephant.
- jonnycomputer 5y agoAh! Interesting. The color plate makes it quite clear that the "trunk" is actually another creature (a snake). I wonder if the motif of elephants battling dragons comes out as a kind of origin story of how the elephant got its trunk.