Christian Icon
date: label: Accession Date
content: 7 Sep 2010
label: Collection Date
content: 1988
name: label: Collector
content: Linda L. Kaplan
label: Donor Name
content: Linda L. Kaplan
notes: label: Notes
content: Christian portable painted icon. Wooden case carved with intricate patterns based on typical Ethiopian Christian manuscript illumination forms. At the top of the case are two triangular knobs, through which a cord would have been threaded for wearing the icon as a chest pendant. The icon opens on both faces to reveal four individual paintings representing Ethiopian saints. The paintings are in the "modern Axum style". Traditionally, religious painters were trained in an atelier system, where they not only learned painting but also studied religious iconography and the lives of the saints, and became proficient in writing in Ge'ez, the traditional liturgical script. The case maker and the painter are two different artists. Mary Jo Arnoldi, curator of African Ethnology, asked Daniel Berhanemeskel, a painter who was trained in Ethiopian religious painting, to help interpret the paintings. One of them has script that he says reads "Saint Lalibela", and shows a female saint with a sword. The painting opposite this shows two people, one with a spear and another with a cannon, possibly fighting in a war. The painting on the inside of the other side shows three people standing. Berhanemeskel says these are "not clear to identify, [possibly] a saint supplicating with his disciples". The painting opposite this shows a person sitting, tied to a tree with a rope, with another man standing and looking down on him. He says this may be Saint Stephen, the first martyr who was stoned.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 1 Dec 2015
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Kenya / Tanzania, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Ethiopian
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2054142
label: USNM Number
content: E433289-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Icon
physicalDescription: label: Length
content: 8 cm
label: Width
content: 2 cm
label: Height
content: 10 cm