African Zion : the sacred art of Ethiopia ; [... on the occasion of the Exhibition "African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia", the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland 17 October 1993-9 January 1994 ... The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 14

The art of highland Christian Ethiopia - with its icon paintings on wood, metal processional crosses, gold coins, and manuscripts - is largely unknown in the West. This book presents a survey of this art from the 4th to the 18th centuries, and addresses the function of art within Ethiopian society. "Ethiopian art is some of the most impressive and least well-known of the African continent, and this book is the first comprehensive introduction to it available in any language. It is the catalogue to an exhibition that will tour the United States from October 1993 to January 1996, and in it, a group of leading American, British and Ethiopian scholars in Ethiopian art and culture introduce and discuss a fascinating collection of work. The art ranges from the fourth to the eighteenth centuries, and includes panel paintings, illuminated manuscripts, coins, and metal and wooden processional most of the art is religious in origin, and it all shows a strong Byzantine influence. Many of these objects have never been reproduced before, and indeed many were rediscovered only within the last 20 years. Others are kept in inaccessible monasteries and churches in Ethiopia and have never been seen before outside of these locations. The book also includes, in addition to the reproductions of the art objects, a series of essays on differing aspects of Ethiopian culture and society, covering topics as diverse as the nature of the medieval Western legacy in Ethiopian culture; the political, social and economic history of the country; and the significance of style, iconography and patronage in Ethiopian art. It is a gripping and illuminating study of a little-known type of art which is only now achieving its true status." -- Publisher's description Dreaming Of Jerusalem / Roderick Grierson -- Ethiopia Revealed : Merchants, Travelers, And Scholars / Richard Pankhurst -- Church And State In Ethiopia : The Early Centuries / Taddesse Tamrat -- Church And State In Ethiopia : The Sixteenth To The Eighteenth Century / Donald E. Crummey -- Ethiopic Literature / Getatchew Haile -- Ethiopian Manuscripts And Paleography / Siegbert Uhlig -- Linear Decoration In Ethiopian Manuscripts / Carla Zanotti-eman -- Maryam Seyon : Mary Of Zion / Marilyn E. Heldman -- Aksumite Coinage / Stuart C. Munro-hay -- The Heritage Of Late Antiquity ; The Zagwe Dynasty : 1137-1270 ; The Early Solomonic Period : 1270-1527 ; The Late Solomonic Period : 1540-1769 / Marilyn E. Heldman. Catalogue By Marilyn Heldman With Stuart C. Munro-hay ; Essays By Donald E. Crummey ... [et Al.] ; Edited By Roderick Grierson. In Association With Intercultura, Fort Worth; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; The Institute Of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa. Published On The Occasion Of The Exhibition 'african Zion: The Sacred Art Of Ethiopia', The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, 17 October 1993-9 January 1994 ... [and Other Places]--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 256-270). Introduction, by Roderick Grierson Dreaming of Jerusalem, by Roderick Grierson Ethiopia Revealed: Merchants, Travelers, and Scholars, by Richard Pankhurst Church and State in Ethiopia: The Early Centuries, by Taddesse Tamrat Church and State in Ethiopia: The Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century, by Donald E. Crummey Ethiopic Literature, by Getatchew Haile Ethiopian Manuscripts and Paleography, by Siegbert Uhlig Linear Decoration in Ethiopian Manuscripts, by Carla Zanotti-Eman Maryam Seyon: Mary of Zion, by Marilyn E. Heldman Aksumite Coinage, by Stuart C. Munro-Hay The Heritage of Late Antiquity, by Marilyn E. Heldman The Zagwe Dynasty: 1137-1270, by Marilyn E. Heldman The Early Solomonic Period: 1270-1527, by Marilyn E. Heldman The Late Solomonic Period: 1540-1769, by Marilyn E. Heldman Presents a survey of the art of highland Christian Ethiopia with its icon paintings on wood, metal processional crosses, gold coins and illuminated manuscripts from the 4th to the 18th centurys. It also addresses the function of art within Ethiopian society.