Single Leaf from a Gospel Book with a Portrait of Saint Luke

Cleveland Museum of Art

Single Leaf from a Gospel Book with a Portrait of Saint Luke

Date
c. 1440–80
Medium
ink and tempera on vellum
Culture
Empire of Ethiopia, Tigray region (Ethiopia)
Department
Medieval Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
160940

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Christianity arrived in Ethiopia during the 300s CE, well before reaching northern Europe. Typical of panel and manuscript painting in Ethiopia, this leaf is decorated with bright colors and a joyous interplay of geometric pattern. The full-page miniature depicts the evangelist Luke, with his symbol, the ox, within the arch above. The short text is in the Ge‘ez (the centuries-old church language of Ethiopian Orthodoxy) and consists of the opening lines of the gospel of Luke: “Make this image of St. Luke with this bull––his prayer (offering)––and with his blessings, they were with us. Amen.” The majority of Ethiopian manuscripts are written in Ge’ez, the ancient liturgical language of Ethiopia.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Provenance
-1999: (Bruce Ferrini Rare Books, Akron, Oh), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1999-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh

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