Serial Number: 20922
Title: Queen of Sheba (1921)
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Country of Origin: US
Genre: Private Gallery - The 20's
Subject: Biblical
Size: 1 SHEET 27x41(LB)
Condition: EX
Card Number: N/A
Price: $NOT FOR SALE
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| Actors/Actresses: Betty Blythe, Fritz Leiber |
| Notes: Director: J. Gordon Edwards; Whether such a queen really existed is in dispute among historians. In fact, even the location of the Kingdom of Sheba is not entirely clear. Most modern scholars identify it with Yemen, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, or alternatively, Ethiopia. The common knowledge that we have about the Queen of Sheba comes to us from the Old Testament. There, in 1Kings 10:1-13, in a few sketchy verses, we are told that upon hearing of King Solomon’s renowned wisdom, she came at the head of a great retinue, bearing great amounts of spices, gold, and precious stones, for the purpose of asking him riddles she had prepared for him. When Solomon answered all her questions, and she witnessed his wisdom, wealth, the food at his table, and the attire of his servants, she proclaimed that all the stories she heard about him were not even half of what she saw. Solomon repaid her in kind and gave her all that her heart desired, after which she returned home. According to legend as appearing in Kebra Nagast, the Ethiopian national saga dated back to the 14th century, the visit included a liaison between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba that produced a son, Menelik I, who inaugurated the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. That dynasty lasted till the deposition of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, whose title in part was The Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. According to the Midrash, which is Jewish rabbinic interpretation of the Bible, the Queen was so overwhelmed with Solomon’s great wisdom and his answers to the riddles that she posed to him, that she converted to Judaism after the visit. In the Kabbalah the Queen of Sheba is considered one of the queens of the demons and sometimes is identified with Lilith, the first wife of Adam. It is nothing short of remarkable then, that this ancient Queen, whose name is never mentioned in the Old Testament, has become such a huge mythological character over the centuries. With stories and legends abound, it captured the imagination of man in art, literature, music, right up to pop-culture in the 21st century. There was a total of 8 different films made about the Queen of Sheba, the first being in 1913. This silent version being the 2nd. The film is considered lost, only a few stills and a 17-second fragment survive. The costumes, especially the ones worn by Betty Blythe, as Queen of Sheba, are legendary for being both risqué and breathtakingly beautiful. |
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