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EthiopicManuscriptArt

@artethiopic.bsky.social

1.5K followers 140 following 330 posts

Lover of birds and beards || መፍቀሬ፡ ሥዕላት፡ || Ground Hornbill Artist fan || descriptions are sometimes silly || no politics, just love "ሠዐሉ፡ ለነ፡ ቅዱሳን፡"

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 4d

Ethiopian and Eritrean depictions of the flight to Egypt frequently include Salome, the midwife who was present at Christ's birth, carrying a mesob (መሶብ፡), a basked for storing injera 🇪🇹🇪🇷

Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #StMary #BabyJesus #joseph #salome #injera #mesob #africanart

The Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. The illumination is painted in bright colors with the background mainly in yellow.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 21d

The fear of the demons! 🤺

Ethiopia, 19th c. (?) #angel #sword #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of an angel with multi-eyed wings and a massive sword in his hand.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Sep 3

Young Christ hanging out with his homies

Ethiopia, 18th c. #JesusChrist #YoungChrist #friendship #africanyouth #africanart

Ethiopian manuscript depiction of a story about Christ’s childhood. Young Christ is standing on the rights side dressed in a green garment wearing a large halo. On the left side, three other young boys are standing.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Sep 3

Or a very small saint :)

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Sep 2

"What are you staring at?" 🦁

Ethiopia, unknown date (16th c.?) #lion #saint #mural #africanart

Ethiopian mural depicting an unidentified saint riding a lion. The lion looks straight at the viewer, whereas the saint looks to the right.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 27

"Keep slaying, queens! 👑"

Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #StMary #queen #crown #africanart

Ethiopian closeup of Saint Mary wearing a crown.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 25

Tea, sea, flea, pea, plea… are all pronounced with one syllable, right? As many already suggested, it is probably by analogy with these :)

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 23

Please let me know if you do! :)

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 18

St Samuel of Waldǝbbā on a deep purple background hits hard 🦁

Ethiopia, 19th c. #saint #samuel #waldebba #lion #ethiopiansaint #africansaint #africanart

The Ethiopian saint Samuel of Waldebba riding a lion while carrying a hand cross and a prayer staff.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 10

ከመ፡ ፍሕሶ፡ ቀይሕ፡ ከናፍርኪ፡ ጽጌ፨
ስዉጠ፡ ስርናይ፡ ከርሥኪ፡ ወሕፁር፡ በጽጌ፨

"Like a scarlet thread are your lips, O Flower
– your belly is a heap of wheat, surrounded by flowers!" 💐

Ethiopia, 19th–20th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #icon #geez #africanart

Ethiopian icon depicting the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus on Her lap. Behind them, Joseph and Salome are standing. Salome offers a flower to Saint Mary. The icon is painted in bright colors, red, blue, yellow, green and white. It has captions in white identifying the depicted persons.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 5

"Just checking in…"

Ethiopia, 18th c. #StMary #bishop #africanart

Saint Mary on a cloud carried by angels visiting a bishop. The bishop wears a bishop’s crown and a red garment.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 5

Ah, I understand. Yes, they aren't always the most clearly defined characters 😁

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 4

The PO edition has ክ, though? :) Just as expected

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Aug 4

"OMG!" 🫢

Ethiopia, 15th c. #luke #evangelist #gospel #scribe #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Saint Luke the Evangelist. He is shown as a scribe with a sheet of parchment containing the beginning of his Gospel in Classical Ethiopic in front of him. His hand is placed in front of his mouth as if in surprise.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 28

But still the caption seems meaningful :)

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 24

*hihihi* 😊

Ethiopia, 16th c. #saint #apostle #jacob #matthias #africanart

The apostles Jacob, son of Alphaeus, and Mathias covering their mouths, as if laughing.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 23

It is not a genre in Ethiopic poetry, but maybe you are still onto something

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 23

It's from the so-called Zir Ganela Gospels at The Morgan Library: www.themorgan.org/collection/z...

Yes, that's not really the same context… :)

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 23

The heart-shapes would suggest something like that 💚

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 22

It makes one wonder – what are these branches? They aren't mentioned in the Gospels (right?), so could this be a reference to some other, apocryphal text?

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 22

One thing I love about Ethiopian-Eritrean art is the unexpected details that sometimes appear. In this baptism scene, for example, half the space is filled by trees with the caption "How branches overshadowed (the River) Jordan" 🌿

Ethiopia, AD 1400/1401 #JesusChrist #baptism #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. On both their sides, angels are standing, pointing at the scene. Above them are green branches.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 19

Yes, I have seen similar ones

EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 19

It is commonly the case, but not in every single piece of art ever produced in Ethiopia and Eritrea :) but yes, in general, this rule holds

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · Jul 19

This one is said to come from a European source, yes!