King Solomon Receiving the Queen of Sheba

This scene and that of King David Receiving the Cistern Water are particularly fine examples of the decorative style practiced in Antwerp by a group of largely anonymous artists now dubbed Antwerp Mannerists. The paintings originally formed the interior of the wings of a folding triptych with the Adoration of the Magi as its center. Both show gifts being presented to a ruler on his throne and would have been understood as Old Testament prefigurations of the submission of the nations to Christ as king, the theme of the lost Adoration panel. They also provided an excuse for the artist to depict exotic costumes, architecture, and luxury goods—the hallmarks of the Antwerp Mannerist style.