Needlework and Beadwork Picture 1991-389

Beadwork Picture of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Unknown Maker

Date1650-1675

MediumGlass beads, metal spangles, and silk needlework on a ribbed silk ground with wooden frame

DimensionsOH: 17 1/4" x OW: 21" (framed)

Credit LineBequest of Elizabeth Ridgely Blagojevich.

Object number1991-339

DescriptionThis is a framed beaded and embroidered picture of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The ground fabric below the beading is a light green ribbed silk. The image is bordered on all four sides by a floral border with a blue vine, green and yellow leaves, and gray, yellow, orange, purple, and blue flowers. In the picture's center is a male figure, King Solomon, under a tent. The tent and carpet match, featuring a blue and orange abstractly floral pattern. On top of the tent is an orange flag. The king wears a crown, has long hair and a goatee, wears an ermine-lined robe, gold doublet and breeches, and blue hose. To the left is an attendant with similarly long hair, a mustache, and long beard. He wears a patterned robe with a large collar. To the right of the king is a female figure, the Queen of Sheba. She wears a crown, an ermine-lined robe, and yellow and blue dress. She holds in her right hand a container for spices. Holding the queen's robe is an attendant in a blue dress with a white collar. The faces and hands of all four figures are made of fabric and are embroidered instead of covered in beads. Peppered between the figures are a variety of white, yellow, and blue flowers, as well as silver spangles.

Above the four figures, in the left corner, is a structure of white walls and a blue roof. Next to it is a leafy tree, and to the right of the tree is a black bird in flight. In the right corner is a larger, brick building with a checkerboard walkway. To its left is a similarly leafy tree and to its right is a butterfly and a caterpillar. The four figures stand on a green ground, below which is a narrow strip of small nature vignettes. A stalk with two blue and red flowers is followed by a bird pollinating a flower, which is in turn followed by a minute grotto.

Label TextThis beadwork panel, features, at first glance, a king, queen, and two attendants. Upon further study, it can be seen that the king and queen are King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. King Solomon resembles King Charles I, with his stylized light brown moustache and pointed beard. Why King Solomon appears as Charles I is mysterious, as it is likely Charles was executed several decades before this beadwork picture was made. Perhaps the maker of this beadwork was a Royalist who supported Charles I and opposed Oliver Cromwell and his supporters.
ProvenanceEx coll: Blagojevich.