Global Tourism Was Built on Headless Blemmyes

The Book of Marvels is the kind of show that’s hard to avoid at archival art institutions, wherein problematic historical content, aesthetic appeal, and fantasy all intersect.

Global Tourism Was Built on Headless Blemmyes
Master of the Geneva Boccaccio, "Thrace and Traponee (Sri Lanka)," in the Book of the Marvels of the World (Angers, France, c. 1460–65); Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum (all photos Natalie Haddad/Hyperallergic)