Jezebel

Tyrian princess who married the king of Israel,
she was later assassinated for being a powerful woman
and a pagan. She is wearing a golden crown inlaid with ivory carvings of the tree of life, a symbol associated with the goddess venerated by the Lebanese and their Israelite cousins. She is robed in Tyrian purple (which was often burgundy), a dye that her Phoenician people traded all over the the Mediterranean. This painting was commissioned in 2004 by Martha Shelley for her forthcoming novel,
Jezebel, Queen of Israel.

Copyright 2004 Max Dashu