Lysia the Snake Priestess 1976

Lysia was the wicked villainess of Corelli's city, Al-Kyris. I did this portrait of her in 1976. I used to do a picture of Lysia every year as she reclined on her black crystal throne, (un)clad in transparent gauze. This depiction is rather stiff and upright for the Snake Priestess. For a whole write-up on this character, please clic here, just in case you want to know more. The green stuff on the ceiling is a malachite veneer, and the columns are mirror-faced so they look transparent. A snake shape jeweled in emeralds is mounted on two ivory tusks above her head. Like the Poet's character portrait this one is tiny, too small to add in her animal friends of Python and Tigress. 

Ink and watercolor on illustration board, 4 1/2" x 7 1/2", 1976.