Manuscript page
date: label: Date
content: 15th century
name: label: Maker
content: Ethiopian Orthodox
notes: label: Label Text
content: This image of King David playing a harp would have been bound in a Bible with the Psalms. In general, this museum does not acquire individual manuscript pages so as not to encourage the dismemberment of books, but this old fragment is an exception. Scribes in an Ethiopian monastery obviously used the back as a practice sheet for calligraphy.
label: Description
content: Painting on vellum of a man playing an Ethiopian box lute, in a 3/4 pose, wearing a red robe. The headtie and cloak are orange with yellow folds. The hair and beard are white with black lines and he is wearing a rod earring.
label: Provenance
content: Joseph and Patricia Brumit, Sun City West, -- to 2004
label: Exhibition History
content: African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013
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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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: musical instrument
label: Topic
content: male
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African Art Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Joseph and Patricia Brumit
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2004-7-7
objectType: label: Type
content: Book and Manuscript
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Parchment, pigment
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 26 x 19.5 cm (10 1/4 x 7 11/16 in.)