Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian sister Rosalind Birnie Philip subsequently acted as secretary to Whistler and was appointed Whistler's executrix at his death. Whistler painted a number of full-length portraits of Ethel, including "Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian" and the watercolour "Rose and Silver: Portrait of Mrs Whibley"; and other sketches and etchings of her titled as Miss Ethel Philip or Mrs Whibley. Whistler commenced work on "The Andalusian" in London in 1888, the year Whistler married Beatrix, with the painting being completed in Paris in 1900. Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian is a
Parable of the Pearl Hidden Treasure appears later (Saying 109), rather than immediately preceding, as in Matthew. However, the mention of a treasure in Saying 76 may reflect a source for the Gospel of Thomas in which the parables were adjacent, so that the original pair of parables has been "broken apart, placed in separate contexts, and expanded in a manner characteristic of folklore." In Gnostic thought the pearl may represent Christ or the true self. In the Gnostic Acts of Peter and the Twelve, found with the Gospel of Thomas in the Nag Hammadi library, the travelling pearl merchant Lithargoel is eventually revealed