Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg engaged the Flemish artist Maerten de Vos to paint ten life-sized scenes of real and imaginary animals, including a dromedary and a unicorn. This drawing was probably made after De Vos’ painting of the dromedary. The artist rendered the animal’s coat and characteristic head in a painterly manner. However, he miscalculated its proportions; the head is too large for the body.