João III, the king of Portugal, has a dilemma: the wedding
gift to his cousin, Maximillian of Austria, at the time of his nuptials seems
insufficient. But a solution has been discovered in the form of Solomon the elephant.
In the king’s possession for many years, it has hardly garnered the attention
such a creature demands, and so sees it not only as an option to dispense with
an overlooked royal asset but also to give a stunning gift. This means
transporting the beast from Lisbon to Vienna. At each new location the elephant
inspires the fascination of the locals, with all viewing the elephant as a
different being of elation, concern, or utility.
The use of an elephant is no coincidence. Although an
elephant did indeed cross Europe in 1551, the aptness of the creature is more
intertwined with the narrative that is less about the historical than the
anecdotal. Wherever Solomon is seen he becomes the proverbial elephant in the
room, those thoughts that hitherto words were incapable of giving form. Thus
Solomon becomes a contingent object, being added to a family cress, or being
prayed on to remove a curse, or an umbrella stand. But equally he
becomes an object that, although now a source of fascination, will one day
simply become a memory, something shared in a reminiscent glance with a fellow
witness, or a colourful yarn regaled to strangers. Like Queen Catherine of
Portugal who, when asking “whatever happened to Solomon?”, will feign innocence
and manufacture amusement at being given news of his whereabouts. It is all a testimony
to the fact that “memory, which isn’t anyone’s strong point, is best not
overburdened with too much detail.”
The Elephant’s Journey is a rich, whimsical tale filled with
humour, solemnity, and the truth of the circumstantial.
Andreas
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