Object Description
A very large giltwood framed K.P.M. porcelain plaque of Jephthah’s daughter
German, Late 19th Century
Frame: height 97cm, width 84cm, depth 8cm
Plaque: height 65cm, width 52cm
Dating to c.1870, this wonderful porcelain plaque by K.P.M. depicts the biblical figure of Jephthah’s daughter, sometimes known as Seila or Ipsis, accompanied by four weeping daughters of Israel, and is set within a magnificent ornate giltwood frame.
After a beloved religious painting by German artist Carl Oesterley (1805-1891), who is known for his large oil paintings of biblical scenes and figures, it depicts the aftermath of the events told in Judges 11 that the judge Jephthah, in return for his victory over the Ammonites, rashly promised to sacrifice whatever first came out of his house, which happened to be his daughter. The account has been much discussed by theological scholars, and is even referred to by Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Polonius.
The painting is sensitively and painted rendered in beautiful porcelain, and complemented by a similarly grand, beautiful, and ornate giltwood frame. It bears an impressed monogram and sceptre mark for the maker.