A S ulphur‐crested Cockatoo in fifteenth‐century M antua: rethinking symbols of sanctity and patterns of trade

The earliest image of an Australasian parrot by a E uropean artist predates the arrival of V asco de G ama's fleet at C alicut on the M alabar Coast in 1498. This article focuses on that image – a small but significant detail in A ndrea M antegna's Madonna della Vittoria , completed in M antua in 1496. Although M antegna's altarpiece has been the subject of attention in modern scholarship, the significance of the Sulphur‐crested Cockatoo has not been explored. In this article, I consider why M antegna would have included parrots in his altarpiece and the symbolic significance of the cockatoo's position in the composition. I also explore the intriguing issue of how a creature native to regions generally considered to have been beyond E urope's trading reach in 1496 could have appeared in a Renaissance artwork. The Sulphur‐crested Cockatoo in the M adonna della V ittoria provides a unique opportunity to place fifteenth‐century Italy in its global context. Its presence not only confirms the interests and purchasing power of M antegna and his patrons, the G onzagas, it reveals the complexity and range of S outh‐ E ast A sian trading networks prior to the establishment of E uropean trading posts in the region.