Towards a Comparative Framework for Research on the Long Cycle in Ethiopic Gospels: Some Preliminary Observations

Abstract

This article argues that it is possible to improve our understanding of Ethiopian manuscript illumination of the early Solomonic period by adopting a systematic comparative approach. It does so by presenting a case study which analyses and compares the iconography of two examples of the long cycle dating to the second half of the fourteenth century. This comparison shows how technical skills and artistic choices contributed to the shaping of Ethiopian manuscript illumination, and in doing so it sheds some light on the artistic practices of early Solomonic illuminators.

An Ethiopian Miniature of the Tempietto in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Its Relatives and Symbolism

“…71 Lowden 2002, 70. 72 A similar point has been recently made in Gnisci 2017, 91-98. 73 Underwood 1950, argues that the eight-columned structures visible in Latin and Armenian gospels are close enough to justify the assumption of a 'common heritage'.…”

“…For an overview, see Leroy/ Wright/Jäger 1961, 8-11, pls 7-21;Hammerschmidt 1973, 84-91;Taddesse Tamrat 1974, 506-507;Heldman 1979b;Davies 1987, 288;Uhlig 1988, 223;Heldman 1993a, 178-179, cat. 69;Balicka-Witakowska 1997, 9, 15, 37, 89-90;Bosc-Tiessé 2008, 33-39;Gnisci 2017. For a reproduction of the Tempietto, see Leroy/Wright/Jäger 1961, pl.…”