[log in to unmask] wrote:
>       The 'Ferret' painting of Queen Elizabeth I is, presumably, the famed
>'Ermine Portrait', located at Hatfield House. [...]
>       (The beast depicted is clearly intended to be an ermine.  I have
>heard it suggested that a ferret was used to pose, but not only is
>the animal much too small--the idea of a ferret holding still long
>enough to be painted is to laugh!)
 
Well, I can say one thing - they didn't have an ermine pose for it ;-)
Having nursed a least weasel back into health, I can tell you that these
animals make ferrets look like they're encased on molasses and bolted
to the floor.
 
On the other hand, a ferret or polecat would have been a good size for
a model, and modern-day artists are still using specimens prepared by
taxidermists...  [Albeit these days they appear to be using
pre-existing museum specimens rather than collecting their own.]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0486]