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date: label: Date
content: Late 17th-early 18th century
name: label: Maker
content: Ethiopian Orthodox
notes: label: Label Text
content: 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.
label: Label Text
content: Left panel
label: Label Text
content: top: "St. Mary," "Our God is crucified," and "St. John" the Evangelist
label: Label Text
content: middle: Four apostles or saints
label: Label Text
content: bottom: "St. George" and the dragon
label: Label Text
content: Center panel
label: Label Text
content: "St. Mary with Her Beloved Son" flanked by the archangels "St. Michael" (left) and "St. Gabriel" (right)
label: Label Text
content: Right panel
label: Label Text
content: top: "Painting of Resurrection" (the Descent into Sheol ([Underworld]), "Adam and Eve"
label: Label Text
content: middle: Four apostles or saints
label: Label Text
content: bottom: Four apostles or saints
label: Description
content: 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.
label: Provenance
content: Ciro Taddeo, purchased in Addis Ababa, 1972 to 1998
label: Exhibition History
content: 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
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: 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.
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: 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.
label: Published References
content: 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.
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: equestrian
label: Topic
content: mother and child
label: Topic
content: snake
label: Topic
content: cross
label: Topic
content: sun
label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: moon
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
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Object number
content: 98-3-2
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: 34.2 x 47 x 17 cm (13 7/16 x 18 1/2 x 6 11/16 in.)