Cy sensuit histoire de sophonisbe royne de numidie · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Cy sensuit histoire de sophonisbe royne de numidie
Subject: Masinissa; Important Women; Famous Women; Important Queens; Devotion; Sophonisba
Period: 1400-1450;
Geographic: Modern day Algeria; North Africa; Numidia
Description: This illumination depicts Sophonisba, the queen of Numidia, about to drink a chalice full of poison. She is illustrated wearing a crown to demonstrate her royal status. Sophonisba is famous for her death, as she willingly drank a poison given to her by her husband to avoid dying at the hands of her enemies: the Romans. Sophonisba’s husband, Masinissa, is illustrated on the left side of the image wearing a brown robe and a crown as he stands beside the servant. He has a saddened look on his face as he does not want his wife to die. Sophonisba is illustrated reaching towards the chalice. There is another depiction of Sophonisba in the background lying dead on the ground after drinking the poison.
Image Creator: Master of Boethius (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:20056
Language: frm
Source Name: Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation
Parent Collection: 1410 Paris; 1410 Paris
Image: mta_20056_OBJ.jpg
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Masinissa; Important Women; Famous Women; Important Queens; Devotion; Sophonisba