Through the Advent Calender door on 10th December, the Camels of the Magi

As the Magi approach Bethlehem seeking the new-born King of Judea, their camels take a well-earned rest.

I really like the graphic representations of exotic animals such as elephants and camels during this period, there is a joyful, naive, almost cartoon-like quality to them, as such beasts were still very unfamiliar and strange to most people in the West!

Toile de Nantes 'The Caravan of Cairo' c1785-90