In Ferret List #467, Sukie asked about a painting of E. Rex (Elizabeth
I) with a ferret.  I haven't tracked it down, but the famous "Lady with
Ermine" painting is by Leonardo da Vinci (I'm pretty sure) and should
therefore exist in a book somewhere.
 
[Now that you mention it, I remember it too, and I'm sure you're right
about da Vinci.  Rather bilious looking woman with strange hair ;-)]
 
Other medieval ferrets:
 
John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, had many portraits painted.  One is
from around 1404-1419.  It's now in the Louvre, Paris.  That is NOT a
fur collar that he is wearing, but rather, a ferret is curled around the
appropriately-named duke's neck.  Unfortunately, the only book I've seen
this painting published in is difficult to find:
 
Scott, Margaret (1980)  _Late Gothic Europe: 1400-1500_ (The History of
Dress Series), Humanities Press, New Jersey.  Page 17.  ISBN
0-391-02148-6.
 
 
There is also a painting by Domenico di Bartolo, done in 1443, "Pope
Celestinus III Grants the Privilege of Independence to the Spedale",
also known as just "Spedale".  In it, a young, splendidly dressed
Sienese man with long curly red hair has his back to the viewer.  On his
shoulder stands a ferret with its tail curled around his neck.  It is
wearing a red collar with bells.  I'm not sure where the actual painting
is physically located, but I've seen it in two books:
 
Herald, Jacqueline  (1981)  _Renaissance Dress in Italy, 1400-1500_.
(The History of Dress Series).  Humanities Press, New Jersey.  Color
Plate 4.  ISBN 0-391-02362-4.
 
This one is easier to find, but the printing isn't as good.  A detail of
the painting is on the dust jacket of:
Kemper, Rachel H. (1977) _Costume_  Newsweek Books, New York.  ISBN
0-88225-137-6, or 0-88225-138-4.
 
They also used ferrets for hunting during the Middle Ages.  Gaston
Phoebus, Count of Foix, a French nobleman renowned for throwing great
hunting parties, wrote a book about how to do it.  It's a beautiful,
14th century illuminated manuscript showing the wild animals of Europe
and (sadly) how to hunt them.  Under "Rabbits", they show Phoebus'
huntsmen putting ferrets (wearing little red muzzles) down rabbit holes.
There's a (broken) English facsimile edition:
 
_The Hunting Book_, by Gaston Phoebus.  Text by Gabriel Bise, after
Gaston Phoebus, translated by J. Peter Tallon.  Regent Books, London.
The ferrets are on pages 72-73.  (I say "broken English" because of the
section on hunting wild boars with dogs; "...the boar frightens the dogs
by thrusting his groin at them..."  Yes, I'd be frightened, too!)
 
I'll keep my eyes open for any other sightings.
 
-- Anon.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0484]