The head of a peacock is visible over her left shoulder. Her headdress is also decorated with peacock feathers, and more long peacock feathers drape down over her back.

It shows a rear quarter view of a woman, Salome, wearing a long robe decorated with stylised peacock feather pattern. The Peacock Skirt was the second of ten illustrative plates published with the English version of Wilde's play. Wilde wrote to Beardsley, recognising him as a 'kindred spirit' and enclosing a copy of Salome, and commissioned him to illustrate the first edition of the play, which was published in English in 1894.ĭescription of The Peacock Skirt The play inspired Beardsley to make an illustration, J'ai baisé ta bouche, Iokanaan ('I have kissed your mouth, Jokanaan'), which was printed with eight other drawings in an article, 'A New Illustrator: Aubrey Beardsley', by Joseph Pennell in the first issue of the artistic journal The Studio in April 1893. Performance of the play was prohibited in England, ostensibly on account of it depicting biblical characters. Wilde's one-act play Salome was originally written in French in 1891, while he was living in Paris. Lasner 59B (does not list the portfolio).Aubrey Beardsley, J'ai baisé ta bouche, Iokanaan, illustration, The Studio, April 1893. Lane, who held the copyright, claimed to have had a 'large proportion' of the edition seized and destroyed, which will account in part for the extreme scarcity of copies.Ĭf. This portfolio is also the first to be produced for the Salome illustrations, anticipating, perhaps inspiring, the authorised version of 1907. It was produced as a standard edition (250 copies) and a deluxe edition (50 copies) and a small number of portfolios containing the plates (as here). The most notable of these publications is his edition of Salome as it is the first to include all sixteen of Beardsley's illustrations. From 1900 Smithers used his stock of Beardsley plates and underground printers to produce unauthorised editions in small limitations. Melmoth & Co., the publisher's of this portfolio, were in fact Leonard Smithers, Beardsley and Wilde's publisher from 1896 until going bankrupt in 1900. Sixteen loose plates printed on art paper, being the thirteen plates from the John Lane edition of 1894 plus the suppressed plates, 'John and Salome' and the alternative 'The Toilette of Salome', as well as a reproduction of the original cover design. Each of the plates is 17.2 x 21.7 cm, and is printed on coated art paper. Publisher's green portfolio lettered in gilt to the upper cover.

Salomé beardsley