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

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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