Lot 50: Asenath, daughter of the priest of On 11 1/2 x 9in (29.2 x 22.8cm)

Asenath, daughter of the priest of On signed and dated 'JRiley Wilmer 1921' (lower left); signed, inscribed and dated 'Asenath / Daughter of / The Priest of On / (watercolor) / JRiley Wilmer / "Gayhurst" / Falmouth / 1921' on the reverse watercolor over pencil on artist board 11 1/2 x 9in (29.2 x 22.8cm)

29.2 x 22.8cm

Sale, Sotheby's Belgravia, 9 December 1980, lot 72. With The Picadilly Gallery, London. Purchased by the present owner from the above, 29 August 1986.

In the Book of Genesis, Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph, son of Jacob, to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potipherah, a pagan priest of On, and she bore Joseph two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who became the patriarchs of the Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.