Browse Items (7 total)

The art books from the Hess Collection were crucial in the identification of recent donations from the Hess family. The book displayed here features photographs and descriptions of the Abuna Yemata Guh monolithic church.

Inside the Abuna Yemata Guh church, there are well-preserved frescoes adorning two small domes. This picture is part of one of the cupolas, and represents Isaac, Abraham, and Jacob. It dates from the 15th century.

Six men cross the fields mounted on horses. They go towards the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and two other male figures.

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…

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;…

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…

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.