This vintage animal print from 1822 was originally labeled as an “antelope laineuse.” Other than prints of this same drawing, I have not found any references to an animal with that name. I also looked for white antelope and did not find any references that seemed to match either.
Jean Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin (1778-1846) described this animal as jumping around a bit like a kangaroo which got me thinking about goats. After a little searching, I suspect this fellow isn’t an antelope at all but is a white mountain goat. When you look at the classification, antelopes and goats belong in the family Bovidae. So, I am going out on a little bit of a limb but I’m putting this beautiful white creature amongst the collection of goat images here on Reusable Art.
The work is a bit unique as the goat is sitting on a patch of dirt and grass that seems suspended in air – perhaps a reference to the high places white mountain goats tend to live. His fur is all white and he has two, somewhat small black horns.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
