Emmanuel I of Portugal sends an embassy to Pope Leo X, partly to express his triumph and partly to reaffirm his rights to the East. The embassy turns into an exotic spectacle: panthers, leopards, parrots, and even a white elephant, which bows before the pope and presents him with a casket filled with precious Indian stones. Extending its trunk, it waters the crowd. The pope appoints Raphael as the elephant’s guardian, and he also creates a splendid drawing of him.
