Icon
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1630-1700
name: label: Maker
content: Ethiopian Orthodox
notes: label: Label Text
content: The diptych's composition of registers containing depictions of multiple events is complex. Particularly appealing are the artist's references to Ethiopian life: Mary spinning thread seated on a three-legged stool; the ball game; the style of the three yellow crowns; the lidded food basket on Salome's head; and the depiction of the Temple in Jerusalem as miniature Ethiopian churches. The hand-to-cheek pose and presence of "Eyachem" in the Nativity scene is more typical of Joseph. The final two scenes--the death and assumption of Mary--are rare in Ethiopian art and mix local and foreign artistic forms.
label: Label Text
content: Left panel
label: Label Text
content: top: "The Annunciation" and "The Visitation of Elizabeth" (Elizabeth, left; Mary, right)
label: Label Text
content: middle: "He (Jesus) sleeping in the manger" with Mary flanked by "Hanna" and "Yoachim"
label: Label Text
content: bottom: "Boys playing genna" and "The Magi giving a present to Jesus, Hanna"
label: Label Text
content: Right panel
label: Label Text
content: top: "Entrance of St. Mary to the Temple"
label: Label Text
content: middle: "The Flight to Egypt" with Joseph and Salome
label: Label Text
content: bottom, left: "The (Death) of St. Mary" and apostles
label: Label Text
content: bottom, right: "The Ascension (Assumption) of St. Mary" with angels
label: Description
content: Diptych of distemper, gesso and cloth on wood; each panel having three registers with group scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary with red and green backgrounds.
label: Provenance
content: Ciro Taddeo, purchased in Addis Ababa, 1972 to 1998
label: Exhibition History
content: Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
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: 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.
label: Published References
content: James, E. 1999. Changes in Place, Changes in Context: the Conservation of an Ethiopian Icon. AIC Paintings Group Postprints. Saint Louis, MO. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation.
label: Published References
content: Stobaeus, Per. 2014. Josef: Om Jesu far i bibeln och den kristna traditionen. Stockholm: Artos & Norma.
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: bird
label: Topic
content: mother and child
label: Topic
content: furniture
label: Topic
content: Writing
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 Ciro R. Taddeo in memory of Raffael and Alessandra Taddeo
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 98-3-3
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Distemper, gesso and cloth on wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 51.7 x 43 x 2.5 cm (20 3/8 x 16 15/16 x 1 in.)