EthiopicManuscriptArt
@artethiopic.bsky.social
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Lover of birds and beards || መፍቀሬ፡ ሥዕላት፡ || Ground Hornbill Artist fan || descriptions are sometimes silly || no politics, just love "ሠዐሉ፡ ለነ፡ ቅዱሳን፡"
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"Let me just purify your lips with this piece of blazing coal real quick" 🔥

Ethiopia, 18th c. #ezekiel #prophet #michael #archangel #coal #africanart
Ethiopian and Eritrean depictions of the flight to Egypt frequently include Salome, the midwife who was present at Christ's birth, carrying a mesob (መሶብ፡), a basked for storing injera 🇪🇹🇪🇷

Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #StMary #BabyJesus #joseph #salome #injera #mesob #africanart
The fear of the demons! 🤺

Ethiopia, 19th c. (?) #angel #sword #africanart
"What are you staring at?" 🦁

Ethiopia, unknown date (16th c.?) #lion #saint #mural #africanart
"Keep slaying, queens! 👑"

Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #StMary #queen #crown #africanart
Tea, sea, flea, pea, plea… are all pronounced with one syllable, right? As many already suggested, it is probably by analogy with these :)
Please let me know if you do! :)
St Samuel of Waldǝbbā on a deep purple background hits hard 🦁

Ethiopia, 19th c. #saint #samuel #waldebba #lion #ethiopiansaint #africansaint #africanart
ከመ፡ ፍሕሶ፡ ቀይሕ፡ ከናፍርኪ፡ ጽጌ፨
ስዉጠ፡ ስርናይ፡ ከርሥኪ፡ ወሕፁር፡ በጽጌ፨

"Like a scarlet thread are your lips, O Flower
– your belly is a heap of wheat, surrounded by flowers!" 💐

Ethiopia, 19th–20th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #icon #geez #africanart
Ah, I understand. Yes, they aren't always the most clearly defined characters 😁
The PO edition has ክ, though? :) Just as expected
But still the caption seems meaningful :)
It is not a genre in Ethiopic poetry, but maybe you are still onto something
It's from the so-called Zir Ganela Gospels at The Morgan Library: www.themorgan.org/collection/z...

Yes, that's not really the same context… :)
The heart-shapes would suggest something like that 💚
It makes one wonder – what are these branches? They aren't mentioned in the Gospels (right?), so could this be a reference to some other, apocryphal text?
One thing I love about Ethiopian-Eritrean art is the unexpected details that sometimes appear. In this baptism scene, for example, half the space is filled by trees with the caption "How branches overshadowed (the River) Jordan" 🌿

Ethiopia, AD 1400/1401 #JesusChrist #baptism #africanart
Yes, I have seen similar ones
It is commonly the case, but not in every single piece of art ever produced in Ethiopia and Eritrea :) but yes, in general, this rule holds