Relief Tribunal (Supplemental)

Wise King Solomon sits on an elevated throne. Before him are two women, one standing and the other kneeling and clutching a baby. The executioner is on the point of cleaving the baby in two. Between the two women lies the corpse of a second baby. According to the Bible story, the two young mothers lived in the same house, where they worked as prostitutes. One morning, one of their babies was found dead. Both women claimed the living child as their own. They took the case to King Solomon, who ordered that the remaining child should be cut in two, so that each mother could have half of it. Fearing for the life of her child, the child’s real mother immediately renounced her claim. Recognising this as a demonstration of true maternal feeling, King Solomon assigned the child to her.

Additional information:
This scene symbolises the wisdom that the Amsterdam courts were to possess. In administering justice, the sheriff and magistrates were to follow the example of the Old Testament.