GERRIT CLAESZ BLEKER (Dutch, 1610-1656) The Lethally Wounded King Ahab Leaves the Battlefield (1 Kings 22:34) signed and dated 'Bleker fecit 1622.' (lower center); identified on a presentation plaque oil on panel 52.0 x 86.5 cm (20 1/2 x 34 1/16 in). framed 90.3 x 125.9 x 8.9 cm (35 1/2 x 49 1/2 x 3 1/2 in). Footnotes: Provenance A private collection. Christie's, New York, January 16, 1992, lot 16. A Newport, Rhode Island, estate. N.B. Ahab (c. 1874 - c. 853 BC), the seventh king of Israel, was the son of King Omri and husband of Jezebel of Sidon. Records of his reign, which scholars most recently date to 871-852 BC, appear not only in the Bible but also on the Mesha Stele (840 BC) and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser (9th century BC). Ahab was killed at battle in an attempt to recover the city of Ramoth-Gilead while in disguise. King Ahab is the namesake of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851). This work has been authenticated via digital images by the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) as the work of Gerrit Bleker. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing