Icon
Date: about 1500
Dimensions:
Open: 4 9/16 × 7 5/16 × 1/4 in. (11.6 × 18.5 × 0.6 cm)
Medium: tempera on wood panel
Place of Origin: Ethiopian Highlands, Ethiopia, Africa
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 2021.38
Label Text:Like other Orthodox Christian cultures, Ethiopia maintained a special reverence for the likenesses of holy figures, demonstrated by the artistic vibrancy of the Ethiopian icon tradition. Saints Anne and Joachim, the Virgin Mary’s parents, appear on this icon’s exterior. Inside, a posthumous royal portrait of the revered Ethiopian King Lalibela (1162–1221) and his pious wife Masqal Kibra are on the left with Saint Mercurius on horseback on the right. The icon’s small size suggests it served as a portable icon.
DescriptionTwo-panel wooden icon joined together with string, featuring three painted surfaces in tempera. The exterior painted surface displays a haloed man and woman holding palm fronds. Open, a haloed man and woman, both with large earrings, occupy the left panel. The male saint, who holds a cross in his right hand, wears a white, open, sleeveless tunic with red polka dots over a patterned red long tunic. The female saint wears a red dress with a teal mantle with thick pleats draped over her head and around her body. The right panel depicts St. George holding a spear and riding a white horse. The reverse, or exterior face, of the right-hand panel is unpainted and roughly worn.
On view