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Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)
Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)
Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)

Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideB_after_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideB_after_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideA_after_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideA_after_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_verso_SL1.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_verso_SL1.jpg)

Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideB_before_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideB_before_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideA_before_treatment_bw.jpg)

Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.76.132_print_sideA_before_treatment_bw.jpg)

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Painted Icon, Double Triptych

Arts of Africa

The Ethiopian church’s strong link to Eastern Orthodox Christianity can be seen in the use of icons. The figures are motionless in posture as in Byzantine art, but they have Ethiopian features.

One central panel of this icon shows the Virgin and Child flanked by the archangels Gabriel and Michael. The left panel depicts Saint George slaying the dragon, above, and Takla Haymonat and Ewostatewas, two local saints, below. On the right panel, the Resurrection is represented as Christ releasing Adam and Eve from Limbo.

The opposite central panel portrays Christ wearing a crown of thorns and being mocked before Pontius Pilate. Below are the husband and wife who commissioned the icon. The upper part of the panel on the right shows a local saint, Abo, with a dove and pairs of lions and leopards. The lower part depicts the entombment of Christ.
CULTURE Amhara
MEDIUM Gesso on linen, tempera, wood
  • Place Made: Amhara Region, Ethiopia
    • DATES 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 76.132
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Side A: Virgin and child in central panel flanked on either side by scenes of Crucifixion. Ascension of Christ, St. George and the dragon, and figures representing possibly the servants of St. George. There are inscriptions over the heads of some figures. Colors are mainly blue, yellow, red, and green. Side B: Central panel is scene of Christ in majesty with radiating nimbus surrounded by sleeping figures and on side panels figures of Ethiopian saints, scene of the raising of Lazarus (possibly), a shepard and an Ethiopian King. Colors are mainly yellow, red and blue. Condition: All painted surfaces in need of stabilization. Condition is fragile. Linen worn especially at edges.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Amhara. Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE recto, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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    Amhara. <em>Painted Icon, Double Triptych</em>, 19th century. Gesso on linen, tempera, wood, 12 x 18 in. (35.0 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin H. Williams, 76.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.132_recto_SL1.jpg)

    TAGS

    icon
    triptych
    painting
    angel
    saint
    Mary
    Christ
    Jesus
    Christianity
    crucifixion
    19th Century

    TAGS

    icon
    triptych
    painting
    angel
    saint
    Mary
    Christ
    Jesus
    Christianity
    crucifixion
    19th Century

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