Icon
date: label: Date
content: Mid-late 17th century
name: label: Maker
content: Ethiopian Orthodox
notes: label: Label Text
content: Certain features of this icon are indicative of a mid-late 17th century date. St. George, for example, is slaying a serpent rather than a dragon, and Mary faces the viewer in a plain blue robe, the folds of which are depicted by a heavy linear overlay in a contrasting color. The Ethiopian saints, whose specific identifications vary, are also drawn in the style of 17th-century icons. The emphasis on decorative patterning is also found in later icons.
label: Label Text
content: Left panel
label: Label Text
content: top: Christ's Descent into Sheol (Underworld), Adam and Eve
label: Label Text
content: middle: Covenant of Mercy
label: Label Text
content: bottom: St. George and the dragon
label: Label Text
content: Center panel
label: Label Text
content: top: Mary and the Christ child flanked by the archangels Michael and Gabriel
label: Label Text
content: bottom: Apostles with hand crosses
label: Label Text
content: Right panel
label: Label Text
content: top: Crucifixion with Mary and St. John the Evangelist
label: Label Text
content: center: Abba Takla Haymanot
label: Label Text
content: bottom: Abba Ewostatewos, Abba Gabra Manfas Queddus
label: Description
content: Triptych of distemper and gesso on wood with three registers on each panel and raised border painted white with red inscription. Triptych features various saints and religious iconography, including a central female figure in blue (Mary) and St. George slaying a serpent.
label: Provenance
content: Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Miller, Alexandria, Virginia, acquired Addis Ababa, circa 1971
label: Exhibition History
content: Ethiopian Icons: Faith and Science, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., January 31-October 5, 2003
label: Published References
content: Goodman, Elaine Sooy. 2009. "Warren M. Robbins and the Founding of the National Museum of African Art." Tribal Art XIII:2 (51), p. 95, no. 20.
label: Published References
content: 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.
label: Content Statement
content: As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
label: Image Requests
content: 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/
place: label: Geography
content: Ethiopia
topic: label: Topic
content: mother and child
label: Topic
content: snake
label: Topic
content: Writing
label: Topic
content: cross
label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: angel
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Miller
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 73-24-1
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Distemper and gesso on wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 30.2 x 15.9 x 2.9 cm (11 7/8 x 6 1/4 x 1 1/8 in.)