2-739-642 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist, 1500s or later. Salome’s dancing so pleased her stepfather Herod that he offered her anything she wanted. Her mother advised Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head, which Salome presented to her family in an elaborate dish. Despite its biblical source, this work was meant for a domestic setting, whose owner would have admired the elegant presentation of a shocking story.