She stands in a long robe and crown at the foot of the steps.
Bible in art · 1 Kings
Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba
Gustave Doré · 1866 (designs for La Sainte Bible, Tours); this printing 1873–1874
National Library of Poland, Warsaw
Doré imagined Solomon’s court as a mixture of Egypt and Assyria — lotus capitals, winged discs, carved masks — much as many artists of his century pictured the ancient East. The plate was made for the Tours Bible of 1866.
The queen stands at the foot of the throne steps, tall and calm, her long train held by a page. Solomon has risen at the top of the steps and stretches out his hand to greet her. Her retinue crowds in behind with vessels and a camel, and onlookers watch from a gallery high above.
From the text
- She came “to test him with difficult questions” (1 Kings 10:1)
- She arrived “with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones” (1 Kings 10:2)
- “So she came to Solomon” (1 Kings 10:2)
The artist’s own
- A palace of Egyptian and Assyrian ornament, with winged discs over the doorways
- A page carrying the queen’s long train
- Spectators looking down from an upper gallery
Details
The queen of Sheba
Solomon
The king stands by his throne and reaches out his hand.
Gifts
Her attendants bring in vessels.
The gallery
Onlookers watch from arches high above the hall.
Gustave Doré, French, 1832–1883. National Library of Poland (Biblioteka Narodowa), Warsaw — «Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego Testamentu», vol. 1, Warsaw: M. Glücksberg, 1873 (acc. 75.267 A), tabl. 94 · Wood engraving after Gustave Doré’s design · National Library of Poland (Polona): the record of the volume gives the licence «Domena Publiczna» (Public Domain), «copyrightProtected»: false; the scan was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by the library itself («Polona Upload», GLAM-Wiki partnership: “This file was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons as part of a GLAM-Wiki partnership between the National Library of Poland and Wikimedia Polska”), linking its Polona record.