Hess Collection
Dublin Core
Title
Hess Collection
Subject
Africa, Horn of Africa, African History, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia
Description
[no text]
Creator
Hess, Robert L.
Source
[no text]
Publisher
[no text]
Date
[no text]
Contributor
[no text]
Rights
Courtesy of the Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections
Relation
[no text]
Format
[no text]
Language
[no text]
Type
[no text]
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]
Collection Items
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo priest
This photograph belongs to one of the scrapbooks of the Hess Collection. It contains collection of 277 black and white photographs, housed in a canvas photo album (23 x 32 cm.). Each page contains between five and nine photographs. The album cover…
Pectoral crosses
Pectoral crosses are much smaller than blessing or processional crosses. Secured by a blue string or cord, they adorned the necks of the faithful. Many people received their pectoral cross at baptism.
1 & 2 - The metal pectoral crosses displayed…
1 & 2 - The metal pectoral crosses displayed…
Metal Cross
Also used for blessings, this hand cross has design elements found in traditional Ethiopian wooden crosses. This metal cross is broken, and there is still some kind of residue at both ends, indicating an attempt to fix it.
Wooden Cross
Crosses are a dominant symbol in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Hand crosses are used by the priests to give blessings. The most prominent feature of Ethiopian crosses is their lace-like character, resembling interwoven threads, which can be observed…
Sistrum
This percussion instrument consists of a wooden handle and a U-shaped metal frame, with rings attached to two metal bars crossing the frame. When shaken, it produces noise. The name sistrum comes from the Greek σεῖστρον seistron of the same meaning;…
Christliche Kunst aus Äthiopien und Nubien
Book: Christian Art from Ethiopia and Nubia
This German book illustrates different kinds of Christian art, from paintings to traditional Christian objects, such as chalices and crosses. Picture 51, on the left, exemplifies a wooden hand cross, while…
This German book illustrates different kinds of Christian art, from paintings to traditional Christian objects, such as chalices and crosses. Picture 51, on the left, exemplifies a wooden hand cross, while…
Painting on animal skin
The texture of the canvas indicates that this picture was painted on animal skin. Even though the colors are similar, the style is slightly different than the other pictures in this case. As with the other paintings, it has Ge’ez inscriptions that…
The Coronation of Virgin Mary
Mary became an extremely important figure in the Ethiopian church when Emperor Zar’a Ya’eqob (r. 1434–68) mandated the reading of the Miracles of the Virgin Mary and that she be honored at most of the thirty feast days in the liturgical year. Zar’a…
A scene of the fields
Six men cross the fields mounted on horses. They go towards the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and two other male figures.