Clara, the first rhinoceros in the Netherlands – Early Birds
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What an apparition it must have been, a kind of miracle for the people of Amsterdam in 1741, when a rhinoceros arrived in the harbor. Clara was brought from India to the Netherlands as a Christmas attraction and traveled all over Europe in a car specially made for her. In between travelling, she stood in a meadow in Amsterdam-Noord.
Douwe Mout
The book written by Agnita de Ranitz: Clara, the first rhinoceros in the Netherlands is told from the point of view of the VOC captain who brought her to the Netherlands, Douwe Mout. For seventeen years, Douwe Mout traveled through Europe with Clara and generally attracted a great deal of attention, because no one had seen a real rhinoceros before. Clara finally died in 1785 in London.
Rhino
Until Clara came along, the only one most Europeans listened to was of a rhinoceros based on a print by Albrecht Dürer. A print of a rhinoceros with an extra horn on the back and a skin like thick trousers. Clara brought more knowledge about the rhinoceros. Westerners adults hair rings from head to tail and artists creations many rhinoceros works of art. Many images of her were made, in different materials and different shapes. Paintings, marble statues, even a clock.
Giraffe
Agniata de Ranitz previously wrote another book about an animal that visited Europe: Kom Atir kom. Based on the historic journey from Marseille to Paris by Zarafa, the first giraffe in France, diplomatic gift from the Pasha of Egypt to King Charles X.
At that time, men only knew the image of a giraffe as a strange creature with a hump, a long mane on its back and a long neck, crooked horns… and dots. The animal is walked from Marseille to Paris for 42 days. The surprise is great. to the king in Paris. The giraffe even got a raincoat on and on the way there are searches for stables of 4 meters high.