The fur on these really is incredibly silky and soft - I came across a roadkill stoat a few months ago and before burying it in compost (so as to hopefully harvest the bones in a few months) I took copious fur samples for various parts of the body; black fur from the tail, which was quite coarse, and the soft silky white and brown fur from the body.
The fur on these really is incredibly silky and soft - I came across a roadkill stoat a few months ago and before burying it in compost (so as to hopefully harvest the bones in a few months) I took copious fur samples for various parts of the body; black fur from the tail, which was quite coarse, and the soft silky white and brown fur from the body.
It's not a coincidence that the girl in a da Vinci painting is fondling an ermine or that the old robes in the House of Lords are edged with the fur. There is all sorts of symbolism of course, but it's also true that a stoat is a minimink
I don't think it was painted from life: skins stretch and LdV had a pretty vivid imagination too. The lady isn't dressed for winter, but the stoat is. I agree that a ferret would be nearer to the size shown and easier to handle - but I think LdV could well have seen a live one, in which case he have painted a better likeness. But I can't imagine a sophisticated lady (or her master) paying for a painting with a smelly rabbit-catcher's ferret. I prefer the theory that the white coat of the ermine symbolises purity; it's worth paying to advertise your purity, particularly if you are not 100% pure
