Bhanavar The Beautiful

This dramatic image of a woman dancing amidst writhing serpents was designed to illustrate George Meredith's The Story of Bhanavar the Beautiful, one of a collection of pseudo-oriental tales entitled The Shaving of Shagpat, an Arabian Entertainment (first edition, 1856). Bhanavar was the beautiful, innocent daughter of a Caucasian amir, who, having gained possession of the magic jewel (seen here adorning her forehead), became an evil Queen of the Serpents. The original monochrome version was commissioned from Sandys in 1864 by the publishers Chapman and Hall as the frontispiece for their second edition of the tales (1865). This watercolour, the second version, was painted by Sandys at Meredith's request, for him to present to a friend. It was reproduced in The Artist, Winter Number, 1896, and was also exhibited at the Royal Academy's Winter Exhibition in 1905.