Zarafa Park - Old Gold

Zarafa was a female giraffe who lived in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris in the early 19th century. One of a series of diplomatic gifts made by the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt in 1827, here she is reimagined in a park in Scotland. The scenes within this updated toile plot her journey from boat to ruined folly, the guile of the mission suggested by a coach and horses. The antiqued texture of the design makes for a softened effect and adds to the intrigue.