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.

Keywords

• Ethiopian Art
• iconography
• manuscript illumination
• Bible
• Solomonic