Two Bactrian camels

This is one of a group of studies of animals, traditionally given to Roelant Savery (1576-1639), which were recently reattributed by Joaneath Spicer to his nephew Hans, who was his pupil and assistant both during Roelant's time in Prague prior to 1613, and after his subsequent return to the Netherlands (J. Spicer, Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2004, p. 91). Spicer detects Hans's draughtsmanship in the spirited and almost humorous way in which the animals are depicted in these works, which sets them apart from the more objective and scientific studies made by Roelant. When compared to other drawings of camels by Northern artists from this date, the present sheet is striking in that it shows the rarer double-humped Bactrian camel, native to the steppes of Asia, rather than the more familiar single-humped dromedary. With its long tufted hair and its drooping humps, the result of a lack of water, this Bactrian is probably one of the many curiosities and rarities which Hans and Roelant were able to study during their time in Prague, in the celebrated menagerie of the Emperor Rudolf II. One of the most extensive of its age, the menagerie contained a wealth of natural wonders, including one of the only live dodo specimens in Europe. Indeed, dodos appear in another drawing by Hans from this group: that, along with a study of Elephants and a monkey also by Hans, is in the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento (A Pioneering Collection: Master Drawings from the Crocker Art Museum, exhib. cat., Sacramento, 2010, no. 19). Another sheet from the same group is the Lion attacking a horse in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (Spicer 2004, op. cit., no. 34).

We are grateful to Dr Joaneath Spicer for confirming the attribution after first-hand examination of the drawing.