Description
Herod, King of Judea, sits on a Mughal-style throne as his wife’s daughter Salome reaches for the freshly severed head of John the Baptist. John had offended Herod’s wife, so she took revenge by having her daughter seduce Herod into granting her this wish. Salome is depicted modestly in this painting, and the court musician at the lower left looks on in disgust. The lion head capitals on the pillars above Herod are upside down, seemingly in disapproval of the debauched king.
Provenance
An Indian family in Great Britain, whose grandfather brought the manuscript to England in the 1930s or 1940s (before 1930s–2005); (Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (2005); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005–)
Salome Receiving John the Baptist’s Head on a Platter (folio 112 verso), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier
1602–4
Accession Number
2005.145.112.b
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 26.4 x 15.7 cm (10 3/8 x 6 3/16 in.); Image: 19.8 x 11.2 cm (7 13/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Classification
Manuscript
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund
