English: Painting depicts visit of Arabian Queen of Sheba to the court of Biblical King Solomon of Jerusalem. Solomon had demanded her presence as she was a Sun Worshipper. Note the luxury items such as peacocks imported from India and the flowing saree like dress of Queen Sheba.

Art Gallery Link: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/898/? About: When contemplating this picture it is useful to bear in mind that the second half of the nineteenth century was a period remarkable for archaeological researches and discoveries, especially by English expeditions. The British Museum was a treasure house of antiquities increasingly valued by artists as a reference library. Egypt and the Middle East replaced Greece and Italy as the focus of curiosity. 'The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon' can be contextualised against a craze for orientalist narratives in literature, music and visual art. The wildly composite architectural system of Solomon's temple is reprised in the frame, which bridges the temporal and spatial distance between viewer and subject. The artist has been so obsessed with the accuracy of his details, however, that the figures seem somewhat doll-like. Trained in Paris under Gleyre, Poynter was at heart a Salonist for whom artistry resided in weight of detail rather than dramatic synthesis.

AGNSW Handbook, 1999.