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Catalog Data

Maker:
Ethiopian Orthodox  Search this
Medium:
Distemper, gesso and cloth on wood
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 34.2 x 47 x 17 cm (13 7/16 x 18 1/2 x 6 11/16 in.)
Type:
Painting
Geography:
Ethiopia
Date:
Late 17th-early 18th century
Label Text:
The rich colors, especially the green and deep blue, are typical of this time period in Ethiopian icon painting. The emphasis on Mary's hand gesture, the Christ child's book and the shawl's decorative folds and star and cross ornaments derive from a Jesuit copy of an Italian engraving of a Santa Maria Maggiore icon. Mary's handkerchief, however, is an Ethiopian status symbol.
Left panel
top: "St. Mary," "Our God is crucified," and "St. John" the Evangelist
middle: Four apostles or saints
bottom: "St. George" and the dragon
Center panel
"St. Mary with Her Beloved Son" flanked by the archangels "St. Michael" (left) and "St. Gabriel" (right)
Right panel
top: "Painting of Resurrection" (the Descent into Sheol ([Underworld]), "Adam and Eve"
middle: Four apostles or saints
bottom: Four apostles or saints
Description:
Triptych of distemper and gesso on wood. Left panel: Crucifixion; Saints; St. George and the dragon. Central panel: Madonna and child flanked by archangels. Right panel: Christ with Adam and Eve; Saints in two lower registers.
Provenance:
Ciro Taddeo, purchased in Addis Ababa, 1972 to 1998
Exhibition History:
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016
Ethiopian Icons: Faith and Science, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 31-October 5, 2003
Published References:
Harney, Elizabeth. 2003. Ethiopian Passages: Contemporary Art from the Diaspora. London: Philip Wilson; Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 24, no. 5.
James, E. E. 2005. Technical Study of Ethiopian Icons, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. Washington, DC. 44 (1): 41, 46.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2012. African Cosmos: Stellar Arts. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; New York: Monacelli Press, p. 159, no. 8.4.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 69, 101, 112, nos. 54, 63, pl. 41.
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Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Topic:
equestrian  Search this
mother and child  Search this
snake  Search this
cross  Search this
sun  Search this
horse  Search this
moon  Search this
angel  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Ciro R. Taddeo
Object number:
98-3-2
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7c22d20b9-2c89-466f-a67f-4ccdfae45aa7
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_98-3-2