African king presents gifts to the baby Jesus in his manger - wood carving from Germany, about 1500 AD -Europeans were actually familiar with black Africans before colonization. #parisfrance #clunymuseum #retable #giftsofthemagi #african #poc #medievaleurope #medievaltrade

Glass cup made in Syria or Egypt in the 1100s AD, under Saladin and the Ayyubids. As Europe started to get richer from wool exports, West Asians and North Africans wanted to sell things to Europeans, so they made this cup with Christian symbols for the European market (this kind is known as a Hedwig cup). They mostly came to Europe through Venice or Genoa. This one was found in Central Europe. Now in the British Museum. The label goes on about the Crusades but I don't see what they have to do with it. #glass #islamicglass #islam #medievaltrade #wooltrade #genoa #venice #mediterranean #medievaleurope #saladin #ayyubids

A giraffe in China. In 1413, Zheng He's ships sailed to Bengal in India, where in 1414 they met ambassadors from Malindi in East Africa (now Kenya). The African guys had giraffes with them, and they gave one of those giraffes to the Chinese, who took it home. A year later, the Africans sent another giraffe to China, along with a zebra. Later they sent even more animals. #giraffe #kenyahistory #mingdynasty #medievalchina #medievaltrade