"is na al no nm ae __"

this is a dual portrait of both Salome, from the bible, who danced for the king & asked for John the Baptist’s head in exchange, and Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess who descended into the under world, giving up a treasure at each of the 7 gates she passed through. Oscar Wilde called Salome’s dance, “The Dance of the Seven Veils,” so in this piece seven veils surround the central figure and each veil is one of the treasures Inanna shed and also a representation of the seven seals from the Book of Revelation.

The lion was a symbol of King Herod, who Salome danced for, and in the yellow is Inanna’s husband, Dumuzid, who Inanna let demons drag away in exchange for her release from the underworld. his head is cut off like John the Baptist’s.