The Nubian Giraffe

In 1827 a giraffe calf was sent from Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt to George IV to add to his menagerie in Windsor. The giraffe became quite famous and much publicity surrounded it. Jacques-Laurent Agasse painted the giraffe as well as it's Arab handlers. The giraffe did not fare well living in the menagerie and only survived for two years. In this scene, Agasse captures the handlers and perhaps a veterinarian trying to coax the giraffe into drinking. The posture of the giraffe is indicative that it was in poor health at the time of the painting a fact Jacques-Laurent Agasse would have most likely been keenly aware of due to his own training as a veterinarian.