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Painted portrait of a brown tabby cat in a feathered green velvet cap, white ruff, and green doublet, holding a telescope. 11 / 24

New Lands Await, and This Tabby Has the Brass Telescope to Prove It

AI imageamerican shorthairroyal portraittudor

New lands await, and this tabby has the telescope to prove it. A brown tabby American Shorthair with bold stripes and steady amber eyes poses in a slouchy green velvet cap topped with a striped feather. A crisp white ruff frames his whiskered face, and his green velvet doublet is embroidered with golden leaves and a compass rose on the chest. A leather strap crosses his body, and one striped paw firmly grips a polished brass telescope. Dark green drapery with faint floral patterns hangs behind him, adding to the air of a voyager about to set sail.

The later Tudor years were a great age of English seafaring. Under Elizabeth I, sailors like Francis Drake made daring voyages, and Drake became the first Englishman to sail around the world, returning in 1580. Navigators of the time relied on tools such as the compass, the astrolabe, and charts, along with a lot of skill and courage. Interestingly, the telescope itself arrived just after the Tudor period, appearing in the Netherlands in the early 1600s, so this explorer is a little ahead of his time. He would surely insist that is simply a sign of genius.

With his confident posture and that brass instrument in hand, this tabby looks ready to chart unknown waters, or at least the far side of the backyard. Every great expedition needs a fearless leader, and few are as handsomely striped.

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