Salome (Titian, private collection)

Salome, also called Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, is an oil painting by Titian, made in around 1570, and currently in a private collection. It is not to be confused with other compositions of Salome and Judith by Titian.

Subject
Salome, in Jewish history, was the name borne by three women of the Herod dynasty. Titian depicts the daughter of Herodias by her first husband Herod Philip. She was the wife successively of Philip the Tetrarch and Aristobulus, son of Herod of Chalcis. This Salome is the only one of the three who is mentioned in the New Testament, and only in connection with the execution of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas, pleased by her dancing, offered her a reward "unto the half of my kingdom"; instructed by Herodias, she asked for John the Baptist's "head in a charger".

History
This late work by Titian has been dated to the period 1567–1568. It was once owned by King Charles I, but having passed through a number of private hands, it was sold at auction for just £8,000 at Christie's in December 1994 as lot 348, described incorrectly as a work "from the school of Titian". After the painting was sold on again in 2001, its true nature and value were revealed after cleaning.