Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream

Details

REGINALD ARTHUR (fl. 1881-1896)
Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream
signed and dated 'Reginald Arthur, 1894' (lower right), further signed and dated 'Reginald Arthur/1893' (on the reverse) and further signed and inscribed 'No.2/Reginald Arthur/47 Bedford Square/W.C./"Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's Dream" / "Behold there come seven years of great plenty/ throughout all the land of Egypt, and there shall arise after them seven years of famine,' (on the artist's label attached to the reverse)
oil on canvas
40 x 50 in. (101.6 x 127 cm.)
in the original Egyptian revival frame

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 20 June 1986, lot 78.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 25 October 1991, lot 65.
Seymour Stein, until 2022.

Special Notice

This lot will be removed to our storage facility at Momart. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Momart. All collections from Momart will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Alastair Plumb Specialist, Head of Sale, European Art

aplumb@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3298

Lot Essay

The subject of this picture is taken from the Book of Genesis. Joseph, son of Jacob, had been sold into slavery by his brothers. He was then put into prison after Potiphar’s wife wrongly accused him of attempting to seduce her. There he gained a reputation as an interpreter of dreams. Pharoah’s butler, who had been in prison with Joseph but was subsequently restored to office, mentioned Joseph’s talent to Pharoah who summoned him after a particularly troubling dream. Seven lean cattle devoured seven fat cattle, and seven thin ears of corn devoured seven full ones. Joseph foretold seven good harvests followed by seven disastrous ones. Joseph was subsequently appointed Pharoah’s chief administrator and saved Egypt from famine. The episode was seen to pre-figure Christ feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fishes.

Dated 1893 and 1894, Arthur’s picture pre-dates Ernest Normand’s monumental masterpiece Bondage, offered from the collection of the Royal Cornwall Museum, at Christie’s, London, 15 June 2010, lot 40. Although Normand’s setting is more Babylonian than Egyptian, the motifs and dimensions of the frame are comparable.

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