A Century of Research On Ethiopian Church Painting - A Brief Overview

Institute of Ethiopian Studies
A Century of Research on Ethiopian Church Painting: A Brief Overview

Author(s): Claire Bosc-Tiessé
Source: Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 42, No. 1/2 (June-December 2009), pp. 1-23
Published by: Institute of Ethiopian Studies
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A Century o
A Brief Overview
Claire Bosc-Tiessé*
1. Introduction
The study of Ethiopian Church painting began more or less a century ago. I sha
distinguish between the comments of foreign travellers and the rarely menti
paintings in Ethiopian texts from analytical and historical perspectives. If tra
sometimes commented about what they felt while looking at Ethiopian pa
their comments concerned the history of the Western perception of Eth
paintings and not the history of the studies made on a particular art. In the sam
Ethiopian texts talking about paintings are primarily concerned with the mann
are considered from the perspective of spirituality.1
In this paper, I shall attempt to offer an overview of the history of rese

Ethiopian Church paintings found in manuscripts, and murals from the end o
19th century up to the present, including current trends.
To this end, I look at the different steps of the historiography of Ethiopian c

paintings, the studies which have been done as well as the different areas of f
the researchers in relation to the specific periods and the documents available t
In light of this, I shall consider the evolution of the way analyses have been m
PhD in Art History, Permanent Researcher at the French National Centre for Scien
Researcher (CNRS), presently based at the French Centre for Ethiopian Studie
www.cfee.cnrs.fr) in Addis Ababa.
1 About this topic, see for example Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, Wion, Ana'fs, 2005. Peintures
d'Ethiopie. Collection de la mission Dakar-Djibouti. Saint-Maur-des-fossés, Sépia, p
and more especially on the different sorts of Ethiopian texts concerning paintin
Gondarine period, see Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, 2008. Les îles de la mémoire. Fabrique des im
et écriture de l'histoire dans les églises du lac Tana, Éthiopie, XVIIe' - XVII f s
Publications de la Sorbonne, pp. 17-18.
Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Vol. 42:1-2 (June-December 2009). Copyright. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. AAU.
2 A Century of Resarch on Ethiopian Church Painting Claire Bosc-Tiesse
Stanislaw Chojnacki twice proposed a critical history of different essays in order to

periodise the history of Ethiopian paintings, and classify the different ways of
creating typologies.2 In contrast, my purpose here is to propose a history of the
researches, that is, the history of the different questions which have interested
scholars throughout the last century, and evaluate the documents they have had at
their disposal.
On this occasion of the 50th Jubilee of the International Conferences of Ethiopian

Studies, I shall journey through the major trends of the history of research on
Ethiopian religious paintings. Since 1960, the International Conferences of Ethiopian
Studies have always offered opportunities to discover some new fields of research.3
2. THE BEGINNINGS OF ETHIOPIAN ART HISTORY
Studies on Ethiopian painting began with the publications of Sir Ernest A

Budge, keeper at the British Museum at the end of the 19th - century a
third quarter of the 20th - century4. He published in facsimile some man
either in the British Museum - now called the British Library - or in p
like the manuscripts of Lady Meux. In the introduction of one of his fir
Ethiopian texts, the acts of the Ethiopian saint Mäba'a S'ïyon, published
2 He is beginning with the studies done in the 1950s: Chojnacki, Stanislaw

themes in Ethiopian painting. Indigenous developments, the influence of fore
their adaptation from the 1 3th to the 19th century. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner,
2003. "Attempts at the Periodization of Ethiopian Painting: A Summary from
Present". In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on the History
Art, Addis Ababa , 5-8 November 2002 , Birhanu Tefera, Pankhurst, Richard, ed
Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, pp. 3-30. The periodiza
for the Ethiopian Art History and their designations should also be ana
epistemological point of view in order to understand the assumptio
classifications and how these classifications, applied to Ethiopian painting
classifications already in use in art history in general.
" See the full bibliography on Ethiopian Church painting in these proceedings in
4 For more precision, see Appleyard, David, 2003. "Budge, Ernest Alfre
Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Siegbert Uhlig, ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, vol. I, p
JES, Vol. XLll, N 0.1-2 (June-December 2009)
introduced the first essay on Ethi

texts, he published paintings of ma
Budge was interested in Ethiopian

find in the British collections. He
from the 15th century. Howeve
paintings. In his chapter on Eth
published ornaments ( häräg ) and
published in 1900, and again in 192
of Mary with paintings from La
indicated by the letter A from the
Dawit mentioned in the text could
reigned between 1379/80 andl4127
had been made in the style of t
5 Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis, 1898

and Gabra Krěstos. The Ethiopie Texts
the Illustrations of Ethiopie Mss. Lon
6 See for example Budge, Ernest Al
versions of Dabra Lîbânôs, and the
Lîbânôs, and the Book of the Riches o
Ms. Oriental 723, edited with English
of the Waldebbân version. London, 2
and her only Son Menyelek. London: M
editions of the Miracles of Mary and
Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Life of
Ethiopie Texts, edited with English tr
plates; Id., 1923. One Hundred and Ten
Manuscripts for the most part in t
European Versions, and illustrations f
London: Medici Society; Id., 1933. O
translated from Ethiopie Manuscripts
from some ancient European Versions,
Ethiopian Artists. Oxford University
Legends of Our Lady Mary the Perpet
Ethiopie Manuscripts collected by Kin
London-Liverpool & Boston, Mass.:Med
Perpetual Virgin & her Mother Hannâ
King Theodore at Makdalâ and now in
Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis, 1933.
translated from Ethiopie Manuscripts
ftvm some ancient European Versions,
Ethiopian Artists, Oxford University
XXVIII.
Gondarine style dated at the turn of the 17th and the 18lh centuries in comparison with
other manuscripts. And the king Dawit who made his name written instead of the
name of the previous owner is, without doubt, the king Dawit who ruled between
1716 and 1721. 8
As a matter of fact, the British collections are first of all rich in illuminated Ethiopian
manuscripts from the 17th and 18th - centuries. These manuscripts were taken by the
British troops from Mäqdäla to London after 1868. Most of the manuscripts of
Mäqdäla originated in Gondär, from where they had been taken away by King
Tewodros II in the mid-19lh - century. In other words, the first study on Ethiopian
painting focused on the 17th and 18th -centuries' paintings produced in the capital of
the Ethiopian kingdom at that time. For these historical reasons, Budge could not
have studied paintings of another period.
I shall not dwell on the mistaken views forwarded about the history of the beginning
of Christianity in Ethiopia and the relationships Budge hastily drew between Latin
and Gï'ïz texts, the many approaches he used, without success, to determine the
beginning of religious painting in Ethiopia. I shall not, however, fail to recognize the
fact that he was the first to publish a lot of documents that drew the attention of many
to this new field of study.
2.1 THE DAKAR-DJIBOUTI MISSION OF THE 1930'S
Another important moment for the emergence of scientific thinking about E

paintings was the time of French ethnographic mission called Mission
Djibouti. Led by the anthropologist Marcel Griaule, the mission went across
from Dakar to Djibouti between 1931 and 1933. It stayed five months in Go
1932 and brought to Paris an interesting collection of paintings9 including th
known portable icon. But the most significant items of the collection was a
mural paintings from the church of Abba Entonios, dated from the second ha
8 On this matter, see Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, 2008. Les îles de la mémoire. Fabrique dès
et écriture de l'histoire dans les églises du lac Tana. Paris: Publications de la So
pp. 165-169.
9 This collection has been deposited at the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro, later Musée
de l 'Homme, and it is now at the Musée du Quai Branly.
JES, Vol. XLll, No.1-2 (June-December 2009)
17"' - century. Once again, as w

also emphasized.10
Marcel Griaule had already led

during the years 1928-1929. He
paintings he discovered in Gojja
as the 1 9th - century and the beg
In 1932, after diplomatic and p

Mission Dakar-Djibouti landed b
back and forth across Lake T'
historical capital. He never stud
to have been interested in Budg
the illuminated manuscripts of
Gondär as he had done a few ye
original contribution to the stu
items as he had the intention of
du Trocadéro. When he happ
extremely surprised because nev
type of paintings. In 1932, his
creating awareness about the ex
style.
The paintings were first published by Marcel Griaule in a special issue of the journal
Minotaureu after he returned to France. However, it is one of his students, Wilhelm
Staude, who first proposed analysis of the paintings in 1935. 12 He continued his
-studies further after his visit to Ethiopia in the 1950's, a journey which allowed him
to visit other churches with paintings of the same epoch, like Däbrä Sina at Gorgora
on the Northern shore of Lake T'ana or the painted curtains of Betâlïhem in Gayïnt
which he compared with the former.13
Iu For" more details and the list of the primary sources, see Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, Wion, Anaïs,
2005. Peintures sacrées d'Èthiopie. Collection de la mission Dakar-Djibouti. Saint-Maur-des-
Fossés: Sépia, esp. pp. 13-18.
Griaule» Marcel, 1933. "Peintures abyssines", Le Minotaure, 2, pp. 83-88, ill.
12 Staude, Wilhelm, 1935 (février). "Les peintures de l'église d'Abba Antonios (Gondar,
Abyssime)", Gazette des Beaux-Arts, I, pp. 94-105, ill.
Staude, Wilhelm, 1959. "Étude sur la décoration picturale des églises Abba- Antonios de
Gondar et Dabra-Sina de Gorgora", Annales d'Èthiopie, III, pp. 185-250, ill.; Id., 1959. "Une
2.2 THE EARLY STUDIES ON ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS
The attitude of the Italian archaeologist Ugo Monneret de Villard at the

1930's radically differs from that of Griaule's. Ugo Monneret de V
archaeologist first interested in the architecture of the Assyrian Chur
responsible for the Service of Antiquities in Nubia in the 1930's and als
Ethiopian architecture.14 He was, therefore, the first to have ever pro
illuminated manuscripts from the 14th and 15th - centuries found in We
or in private collections.15 His article is not a fundamental study; howeve
in having shown how ancient the illuminated manuscripts were by desc
dating them. Moreover, Monneret de Villard aptly included these manu
wider context of Eastern Christian paintings. This was the first ever to
major documents among which some became objects of monographs
with the Gospels of Zir Ganela.16 In parallel, he produced studies on so
themes of Ethiopian iconography on the basis of illuminated manuscrip
European libraries.17
2.3 DISCOVERIES AND INVENTORIES FROM THE 1930'S TO THE

1960'S
A few years later, Antonio Mordini, an Italian, spent some time in Eritrea
Ethiopia as head of the ethnographic services of the Africa Orientale Italiana betw
1939 and 1944 during which he also dealt with archaeological enquiries
peinture éthiopienne datée dans une église de Beta-Léhem (région de Gaynt, provinc
Begemder)", Revue d'histoire des religions , CLVI, pp. 65-1 10, ill.
Fiaccadori, Gianfranco, 2007. "Monneret de Villard, Ugo". In Encyclopaedia Aethiop
Uhliç, Sieçbert, ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, vol. III, pp. 1004-1006.
15 Monneret de Villard, Ugo, 1939. "Note sulle più antiche miniature abissine", Orientali
Vili, pp. 1-24.
16 He saw this manuscript in Paris before it was purchased by an American collector. The
manuscript then passed to the New York Pierpont Morgan Library where Marilyn Heldman
studied it to write her thesis (Heldman, Marilyn E., 1972. Miniatures of the Gospels of
Princess Zir Ganala: An Ethiopie Manuscript dated A.D. 1400/01 , Ph.D. diss., Washington
University, St. Louis).
'' Monneret de Villard, Ugo, 1947. "La Madonna di S. Maria Maggiore e l'illustrazione dei
miracoli di Maria in Abissínia", Annali Later anensi, XI, pp. 9-90.
JES, Vol. XLH, N 0.1-2 (June-December 2009)
restorations.18 He focused his atte

papers. Even if he never wrote any
of paintings with his inventory
Gunde's monastery and his own,19
be analysed only decades later by
During the 1950's and 1960's, som

Spencer,22 who lived in Ethiopi
extensively about what they had d
by identifying many manuscripts
details of analysis, they are still use
In 1955, on the occasion of the 25

of crosses, crowns, manuscripts a
who was then living in Gondär, w
photographing up to 1600 paintin
18 Fiaccadori, Gianfranco, 2007. "Mo

Uhlig, ed., Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz,
19 Mordini, Antonio, 1953 (1954). "II
12, pp. 29-63.
20 Heldman, Marilyn E., 1989. "An E
century Ethiopian manuscript illu
Conference of the Histoiy of Ethiopia
London: Pindar Press, pp. 5-14, ill. F
2008. Les îles de la mémoire. Fabriqu
lac Tana, Ethiopie, XVI f - xvnf s.
ornaments framing the pages ( här
Manuscripts of Gunda Gundi". In
Twentieth Century , Henze, Paul B.,ed
21 Jäger, Otto, 1960. "Ethiopian m
pp. 354-391, ill.; Jäger, Otto, De
illuminations of manuscripts in Ethio
22 Spencer, Diana, 1967. "Trip to Wag
1967; Ead., 1972 (July). "In Search
Studies , X/2, pp. 67-95, ill.; Ead.
Brancaleon Re-discovered, Journal of
"The Discovery of Brancaleon's pa
Conference on the Histoiy of Ethiopia
London , October 21 and 22, 1986. Lo
Monastery of Aheyya Fagg Qusqw
Treasures". In Aspects of Ethiopian A
Paul B., ed., London: The Jed Press, p
with fieldtrips in churches in Northern Ethiopia, mainly around Gondär and Lake
T'ana and as far afield as Däbrä Damo and Gännätä Maryam. Jäger then published
his description of 62 illuminated manuscripts, a list still useful for the discovery or re-
discovery of other such works of art.
In the decades following the 1960's, Diana Spencer discovered some works of art
which were as exceptionally important as they were difficult to access. For example,
she managed to photograph the manuscripts of Amba Gīšen (the Mäs 'hafá T¡efuí and
the Miracles of Mary of the 15th century), foreign icons considered in Ethiopia as
miraculous ( se'elä adhenó), and icons by the Venetian Brancaleone found in Gojjam.
She published reports and made them available to scholars. The photographs are still
used for the study of major works that have never been photographed since her visit.
3. ICONOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH: ORIGIN AND MODELS
At the same period Jules Leroy proposed some very new analysis of two
Having published the illuminated Gospels of the church of Abba Gärima,
ancient copies of the Gospels still found in Ethiopia,23 he studied the
system of the Gospels of the late Aksumite and Medieval Ages. He was t
claim to have seen in the manuscripts of Abba Gärima a pattern of illust
may have been created in Palestine ¿hiring the first centuries of Christian
survived in Ethiopia. He also revised the approach of the illustration of th
the 1 7lh - century, when he established the relationships between the pain
period and certain engravings found in European books.24 Going beyond t
of Hugo Buchthal, who had observed similarities between the Nailing on
the manuscript of the British Library Oriental 510 and the engraving of
Passion,25 Leroy discovered the exact source which inspired the new
23 Leroy, Jules, 1960. "L'Évangéliaire éthiopien du couvent d'Abba Garima e

avec l'ancien art chrétien de Syrie", Cahiers archéologiques , 11, pp. 131-14
"Recherches sur la tradition iconographique des canons d'Eusèbe en Éthio
archéologiques, 12, pp. 173-204; Id., "Un nouvel évangéliaire éthiopien illustré du
d'Abba Garima », Synthronon. Bibliothèque des Cahiers archéologiques, 2, pp. 75
24 Leroy, Jules, 1961. "L'évangéliaire éthiopien illustré du British Museum (Or.
sources iconographiques". Annales d Ethiopie, 4, pp. 155-168, pl. XLIV-LIII.
25 Buchthal, Hugo, 1960. "An Ethiopie miniature of Christ being nailed to the C
del Convegno di Studi Etiopici {Roma, 2-4 aprile 1959), Cernili, Enrico, ed. Roma
Nazionale dei Lincei 357, Problemi Attuali di Scienza e di Cultura 48). pp. 331-334
JES, Vol. XLII, No.1-2 (June-December 2009)
decoration in Ethiopian Gospe

allow one to understand its way
Leroy also directed a book wh

UNESCO in several languages, w
the 14th and 15th- centuries' m
Ethiopian monasteries.26
3.1 THE MUSEUM OF ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
In 1952, the University College Museum was founded, and a decade later i
Museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, whose first curator wa
Chojnacki27 was opened. It is at that time that Chojnacki began to sys
publish studies focusing on iconographical series.28 His book: Major
Ethiopian Painting. Indigenous developments, the influence of foreign m
their adaptation from the 13th to the 19th - century, is one of
achievements.29
3.2 A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THE STUDY OF MURALS
The extensive experience of Antonio Mordini, the inventory of the ro

churches by Roger Sauter30, and the presentation of Abba Tewelde Medhin J
26 Leroy, Jules, Wright, Stephen, Jäger, Otto, 1961. Ethiopia. Illuminated manusc
York: UNESCO World Art Series n°15, 27 p. 32 pl. couleur, ill. n&b.
27 See the introduction of Ernst Hammerschmidt about Stanislaw Chojnacki in
Chojnacki, Stanislaw, 1983. Major themes in Ethiopian painting. Indigenous develop
the influence of foreign models and their adaptation from the I3th to the I9t
Wiesbaden: Steiner, pp. 7-8. See also the history of this collection by Chojnacki, St
2000. Ethiopian Icons. Catalogue of the Collection of the Institute of Ethiopian Stu
Ababa University. Milano: Skira, pp. 13-17.
2 For the full list of Chojnacki's papers, see Orbis Aethiopicus, Studia in honorem
Chojnacki , 1992, Piotr O. Scholz, ed. Albstadt: Karl Schuler, pp. XVIII-XX unt
from 1990 to 2006: Orbis Aethiopicus. Beiträge zu Geschichte, Religion
Äthiopiens. Band X. Ethiopian Art - A Unique Cultural Heritage and Modern C
2007. Walter Raunig & Prinz Asfa-Wossen Asserate, eds. Lublin: Maria Curie-S
University Press, pp. XI-XII.
2l) Chojnacki, Stanislaw, 1983. Major themes in Ethiopian painting. Indigenous deve
the influence of foreign models and their adaptation from the 1 3th to the 1 9th
Wiesbaden: Steiner.
30 Sauter, Roger, 1963. "Où en est notre connaissance des églises rupestres d'Ethiopie",
Annales d'Éthiopie , V, pp. 235-292, ill.
the third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa in 1966, 31

showed the world the existence of hundreds of rock-churches in the highlands of
Northern Ethiopia, and opened for researchers the possibilities of discovering mural
paintings. This substantially increased the number of paintings known hitherto,
especially paintings that could be ascribed to belong to different times before the 15th
- century.
In the same years, the German photographer Georg Gerster travelled around the
northern plateaus of Ethiopia in search of paintings and was able to publish in a
famous book the results of his findings, which include mural paintings from a large
number of churches,32 and through his photographs of them promoted the importance
of the field. Soon after, in 1971, the French National Centre for Scientific Research
sent Claude Lepage, a specialist in Byzantine Art, to visit churches. Travelling all
around the country, Lepage began an extensive study of Ethiopian paintings of the
periods prior to the 16th - century.33 For example, he presented some major sets of
murals like that of Gännätä Maryam dated from the period 1270-1285 through the
representation of its founder, King Yïkuno Amlak.34 He also continued with similar
studies initiated by Jules Leroy on the iconographical origins of the more ancient
Ethiopian paintings and tried to discern in the paintings of Ethiopian manuscripts
testimonies about the first Christian iconography of Palestine.35
Tewelde Medhin Joseph (abba), 1969. "Introduction générale aux églises monolithes du
Tigra i". In Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Addis
Ababa J 966. Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, vol. I,
pp. 83-98.
32 First published in German in 1968 and then translated in French and in English: Gerster,
Georg, 1970. Churches in Rock. Early Christian Art in Ethiopia. New York: Phaidon.
"v> See for instance Lepage, Claude, 1972 (juillet-octobre). "L'art chrétien d'Ethiopie du Xe au
XVe siècle. Premier bilan des missions de 1971 et 1972 (résumé)", Comptes rendus de
l' Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres , pp. 495-514; Id., 1977 (mai-juillet). "Histoire de
l'ancienne peinture éthiopienne (Xe-XVe s.) Résultats des missions de 1971 à 1977", Comptes
rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres , pp. 325-375, 23 fig. ; Id., 1977.
"Esquisse d'une histoire de l'ancienne peinture éthiopienne du Xe au XVe siècle", Abbay , 8,
pp. 59-91, 16 fig. ; Id., 1989. "Bilan des Recherches sur l'Art Médiéval d'Ethiopie. Quelques
Résultats Historiques". In Proceedings of the Eighth International conference of Ethiopian
Studies. University of Addis Ababa , 1984, Taddese Beyene, ed., Addis Ababa: Insitute of
Ethiopian Studies, vol. II, pp. 47-55.
Lepage, Claude, 1975, "Peintures rupestres de Gännätä Maryam", Documents pour servir à
l'histoire de la civilisation éthiopienne , 6, pp. 59-84.
15 Lepage, Claude, 1988. "Prototypes de deux Tétraévangiles du XIVe siècle à cycle court de
trois miniatures". In Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Ethiopian Studies.
Moscow , 26-29 August 1986 , Gromyko, A., ed. Moscow: Nanka Publishers, vol. VI, pp. 118-
JES, Vol. XLll, No. 1-2 (June-December 2009)
At the same time, French scholars t

Claude Lepage was, for example, wo
the Gondarine period, and Jacque
discoveries were reported including
years 1960 to 1964 published in the
by Fire S'ïyon in the monastery of
Giorgis as well as enamels preserved
a representation of the Ethiopian k
out Annequin's paper on the painti
contribution. As the murals of thi
the founder of the church, King Iy
the same ones described in the text
these paintings belong to the second
the contrary, this specific style st
ruins iņ the compound of the presen
Guy Annequin showed that the ori
one as is the present church; that t
the 1 9th - century and that the mura
end, not the beginning, of the secon
3.3 THE FIRST EXHIBITIONS OF ETHIOPIAN ART IN EUROPE
In the 1960's and 1970's, exhibitions in Germany and France helped the w
to get acquainted with Ethiopian art. The first exhibition was opened in Es
127; Id., 1987. "Reconstitution d'un cycle proto-byzantin à partir des miniat
manuscrits éthiopiens du XIVe siècle", Cahiers archéologiques, 35, pp. 159-195, 24
1990 (novembre-décembre). "Contribution de l'ancien art chrétien d'E
connaissance des autres arts chrétiens », Comptes rendus des scéances de
l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, pp. 799-822; Id., 1997 (juillet
"Première iconographie chrétienne de Palestine : controverses anciennes et persp
lumière des liturgies et monuments éthiopiens", Comptes rendus des séances de
l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres , pp. 739-782.
36 Anfray, Francis, Annequin, Guy, Bailloud G., Schneider, Roger, 1965.
archéologique (1960-1964)", Annales d'Ethiopie, VI, pp. 3-26, pl. I-XXII.
Annequin, Guy, 1976. "De quand datent l'église actuelle de Debra Berhan
Gondar et son ensemble de peintures ?", Annales d'Éthiopie, X, pp. 215-226, 4 fi
1 2 A Century of Resarch on Ethiopian Church Painting Claire Bosc-Tiesse
with exhibits of Coptic art and was shown in Paris the following year.38 Some of the
items on exhibit were directly taken from Ethiopian monasteries.
A decade later, another exhibition titled Ethiopie millénaire. Préhistoire et art

religieux was opened in Paris in 1974-1975. It offered an update on palaeontology as
well as archaeology and art history, with displays of items from the French
collections {Musée de l'Homme and Bibliothèque Nationale). They were complete
with items from the collections of the museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies,
which houses the richest ethnographic and artistic objects to date. That was also the
time of the publication of first catalogues of illuminated manuscripts in Germany by
Ernst Hammerschmidt.39
4. PROFESSIONALIZATION OF ETHIOPIAN ART HISTORY IN

THE 1980'S
The 198'Os have been favourable for Ethiopian Art history. The discip
coming of new researchers specially trained in Art History as shown
proceedings of the ICES40 and in special conference on Ethiopian Art histo
by Richard Pankhurst. The first of such conference took place in 1986, in
the Warburg Institute, thus, placing it under the aegis of the German art h
Warburg, who provoked the transformation of the discipline and pla
fringes of both anthropology and art history.
During the same period, an American scholar, Marilyn Heldman, in

studies on the relationships between patronage, spirituality and artistic cr
38 Koptische Kunst. Christentum am Nil. Katalog der Ausstellung in der Villa H

1963; L ' art copte , Paris, Petit Palais, 17 juin - 15 septembre 1964.
39 Hammerschmidt, Ernst, Jäger Otto, 1968. Illuminierte äthiopische Ha
Wiesbaden: Steiner; Hammerschmidt, Ernst, 1977. Illuminierte Handschr
Staatsbibliothek Preußicher Kulturbesitz und Handschriften vom « ānāsee . Graz:
Druck u. Verlagsanstalt (coli. Codices Athiopici I).
40 See below the details on the seventh ICES held in Lund.
Heldman, Marilyn E., 1984. "The Role of the Devotional Image in Em
Ya'eqob's Cult of Mary". In Proceedings of the Seventh International Con
Ethiopian Studies , University of Lund , 26-29 April 1982 , Rubenson, Sven, ed.
Uppsala - East Lansing., pp. 131-142; Ead., 1989. "An Ewostathian style an
Gunde style in 15th century Ethiopian manuscript illumination". In Proceeding
International Conference of the History of Ethiopian Art , held at the Warburg In
octobre ¡986. London: Pindar Press, pp. 5-14; Ead., 1994. The Marian Icons of
One the one hand, she reconstitute

Zär'ä Ya'qob (1434-1468). From this
visually expressed the new doctrin
the will of the king. On the other
the Eustathean and Stephanite m
new aesthetics appeared in politico
positions fostered by the kin
of certain religious movements in r
In parallel, Ewa Balicka-Witak

erudition from previous works alon
the one hand, and on the other,
Ethiopian medieval paintings.42
4.1 A SECOND TURNING POINT
After the change of regime in 1991, new researches began wosfc seainchi
new items were brought to light. We know now many morne paiintfags
better access to others thanks to the many systematic pmibMcatíoiras h
they might be in their details.43 Claude Lepage, partly in colIatarÄM w
Mercier, published works that he had begun before Derg, amraong wihiic
Frē ®eyon. A Study in Fifteenth Century Ethiopian Art., Pmtmimge an

Wiesbaden: Harrasso witz.
42 See for example her thesis: Balička- Witakowska Ewa, 1997.. Lã Ctmmi finem sans Crucifié
dans l'art éthiopien. Recherches sur la survie de l'iconographie chréâemm de l'Antiquité
tardive. Warsaw - Wiesbaden: Zas Pan.
43 Wion, Anais, 2001 . "Un nouvel ensemble de peintures murales éw piranniikr -style gandan en :
le monastère de Qoma Fasilädäs", Annales d'Ethiopie „ XVII, pp.. 27(9-3ê&, ill. ; Balicka-
Witakowska, Ewa, Gervers, Michael, 2001. "The Church of YainroirC'aroimâ Kjn&ste mé És wall-
painting: a preliminary report" Africana Bulletin , 49, pp. 9-47, lé fig- ; ÍBafeka-Wiiitaikowska,
Ewa, 2002. "The Wall-paintings of Wuqro Mäsqäl Church iraear A f ricama Bulletin ,
50, pp. 115-133, 19 ill. ; Ead., 2004. "The Wail-Paintings m the Church i@f Mädhane Alām
near Lalibäla", Africana Bulletin , 52, pp. 9-29, 38 fig. ; Lepage, Oaaiide. Giimuma Élias, Mercier,
Jacques, 2001 (janvier-mars). "Peintures murales du XlF siècle déaooirs/íeintes danas l'église
Yemrehanna Krestos en Ethiopie", Comptes rendus des séances de i 'mmée de i *Atcmáůmáe des
inscriptions et belles-lettres , pp. 31 1-334 ; Mercier, Jacques, 1QÙ1.. ^PannHtuii¡i;es <dki ^niif siècle
dans une église de TAngot (Ethiopie)", Annales d'Éthiopie, XVIiJL, pp. 143-Ü4&, fflL
1 4 A Century of Resarch on Ethiopian Church Painting Claire Bosc-T iesse
Tigrai churches44 and a thorough analysis of paintings from Betä Maryam in

Lalibäla.45
Amongst the catalogues of works, one would mention the icon catalogues of the
museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, which has the largest collection of
Ethiopian icons in the world, published by Chojnacki46. One needs to point out here
the initiative of Ewa Balička- Witakoswka and Michael Gervers, who, contrary to the
culture of secrecy surrounding the study of Ethiopian art prevalent until then,
provided open access to a very large corpus of photographs of paintings and
monuments on a website called mäzgäbä sï'ïlat.41
Besides, Jacques Mercier has prepared an inventory for the Ethiopian Ministry of
Culture with the purpose of identifying the more important items that have to be
classified as National Treasures. He published in some catalogues of exhibitions the
new items he had discovered as well as other major works of private collections.48
Amongst the epoch-making exhibitions is African Zion , organized at Addis Ababa

University and afterwards shown in several museums in the United States, with
published texts by Marilyn Heldman, author of a book on the history of Ethiopian
paintings, with descriptions of some of its evolutions.49
44 Lepage, Claude, Mercier, Jacques, 2005. Art éthiopien. Les églises historiques du Tigray /
Ethiopian Art. The Ancient Churches of Tigrai. Paris: Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations.
45 Lepage, Claude, 1999 (juillet-octobre). "Les peintures murales de l'église Betä Maryam à
Lalibala, Éthiopie (rapport préliminaire)", Comptes rendus des séances de Vannée de
l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres , 3, pp. 901-966, 27 fig.
46 Chojnacki, Stanislaw, 2000. Ethiopian Icons. Catalogue of the Collection of the Institute of
Ethiopian Studies , Addis Ababa University. Milan: Skira. We can also notice the development
of the American collections, especially those of the Metropolitan Museum of New York and
the Walters Art Museum of Baltimore (Vikan, Gary, ed., 2001. Ethiopian Art. The Walters Art
Museum. Baltimore: Third Millennium - The Walters Art Gallery) which get their supplies of
the international art market.
47 Mäzgäbä S3 ' slat Treasury of Ethiopian Images,
http://128. 100.218. 174:8080/ethiopia/index.jsp; username: guest; password: d
same way, see the database of the illuminated manuscripts from the Bibliothèque N
France , called "Mandragore": http://mandragore.bnf.fr/html/
One of these private collections has been returned to Ethiopia and is nowadays ho
museum of Maqale. L 'Arche éthiopienne. Art chrétien d'Ethiopie. Paris: Paris-mus
4t> African Zion , the sacred art of Ethiopia, 1993, Grierson, Roderick, ed., N
London: Yale University Press. We shall also mention the exhibition presenting the
collections of the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Munich ( Äthiopien . C
4.2 ATTEMPTS TOWARDS DATING AND CONTEXTUALISATION
Studying the Gondarine paintings especially those of Gondär and L

appears that one should focus first on the dating of paintings in order t
iconographical analyses in the proper context and understand better the
of images.51 This implies that one needs to look into different studies in
a better understanding of each kind of painting and of the object it is lin
the manuscript or the building it is associated with. For illuminate
contextual history imposes a codicological analysis including a history of
as well as a history of the literature. In both manuscripts and murals,
consider the religious, financial, political context and the patronage th
creation of an image. This kind of study could lead to questions of
had been essentially treated as a graphic prpblemas pointed out before
go further and demonstrate how the choice of using foreign engravin
helped distinguish between influences. The choice could be based on po
aesthetics.52 Either way, one can decipher the background of cre
images, theirs meanings and purposes.53
zwischen Orient und Afrika , 2002, Girma Fisseha, ed. Munich: Staatlich
Völkerkunde.
Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, 2001. Art, Église et royauté en Ethiopie aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles :
écriture cle l 'histoire et fabrique des images dans les églises du lac Tana . Ph.D. diss. Paris:
Université de Paris-I Sorbonne, published in 2008 with the title: Les îles de la mémoire.
Fabrique des images et écriture de l ' histoire dans les églises du lac Tana, Éthiopie, XVI f -
xvuř s. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne.
This observation is of course valuable for every period of times, see for instance: Bosc-
Tiessé, Claire, forthcoming. "Sainteté et intervention royale au monastère de Saint-Étienne de
Hayq au tournant du XIIIe et du XIVe siècle. L'image de Iyasus Mo'a dans son Évangile",
Oriens Christianus.
>2 Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, 2004. "The Use of Occidental Engravings in Ethiopian Painting in the
17th and 18th centuries: From the success of the book Evangelicae Historiae Imagines by
Nadal at King Susniyos' court (c. 1610-1 1) to the murals in the Narga Šillase church (c. 1738-
50)". In The Indigenous and The Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art. On Portuguese-
Ethiopian Contacts in the 1 6th- 1 7th centuries , Ramos, Manuel João, Boavida, Isabel, ed.
London: Ashgate, pp. 83-102, ill.
53 Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, 2004. "'How Beautiful She Is' in her mirror! Polysemie Images and
Reflections of Power of an Eighteenth-Century Ethiopian Queen", Journal of Early Modern
History , 8/3-4, pp. 294-315, 9 fig.; Ead., 2006. "Creating an Iconographie Cycle: the Acts of
Wälättci Petros and the Emergence of Qwärata as a Place of Asylum". In Proceedings of the
15th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Hamburg, 21-25 July 2003 , Uhlig,
Siegbert, ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 409-416, 4 fig.
5. CONCLUSION
All types of studies are necessary and supplementary. As a late com

Ethiopian Art, I have had the privilege of reading the works of ea
make some temporary concluding statements. History is still b
should my position allow me to make such concluding remarks, I w
same reasons, present a critical review of the works of the last fi
surveyed here. I would only hope to have given some background
that s/he can make one's own judgement.
However, I should stress the fact that though there is a long w

primary data is still insufficient compared to what researchers nee
access a full manuscript, not pictures of paintings, one has to s
visu ,M I should also emphasize the fact that not only data and resea
catalogues of exhibitions with demonstrations should be made avai
to understand the ins and outs of the background hypothesis of a
knowledge is a matter of concern to all, I hope that more and mor
trained in the field of Art History so that research on Ethiopian ch
the different methods employed could be explored and understood
ahead.
Appendix I: PAPERS ON ART HISTORY IN PICES
The following is a chronological list of ICES and the number of papers on traditional
Art and Art History presented since the first conference in 1959.
PICES 1, 1959, Roma, Proceedings, 19605:>
In this seminal International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, there was only one
paper on the history of Ethiopian Christian art by a specialist in Byzantine and
Western medieval art, Jules Leroy, who was later appointed as head of the "Section
d'Archéologie du gouvernement impérial éthiopien" in the National Library of
54 An ongoing project on the icons of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, in association with a
restorer, Méliné Miguirditchian, will show what the direct observation enables in comparison
with study on photographs.
Cernili, Enrico, ed., 1960. Atti del Convegno di Studi Etiopici (Roma, 2-4 aprile 1959).
Roma (Academia Nazionale dei Lincei 357, Problemi Attuali di Scienza e di Cultura 48).
JES, Vol. XLH, N 0.1-2 (June-December 2009)
Ethiopia.
PICES 2, 1963, Manchester, Proceedings, 1964s6
There was one paper by Jules Leroy who made a short illustrated overview of the
history of Christian paintings resulting from his researches published in different
reviews.
PICES 3, 1966, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 1969 and 197057
One could find only one paper by Abba Tewelde Medhin Joseph on Church
paintings in the first volume of the proceedings devoted to History and Historical
Archaeology. Though the paper does not focus on painting, it has some import to the
study of unknown murals found in rock churches and important consequences for
Ethiopian painting. 58
PICES 5a, 1977, Nice, France, Proceedings, 198059
The focus of the conference was on Modern and Contemporary history. There was
one paper by Chojnacki, "Notes on the Ethiopian traditional art: the last phase" which
was actually the last one of a series of papers dealing with Ethiopian art from the
15th to the beginning of the 20th - century60.
"6 Beckingham, Charles Fraser and Ullendorff, Edward, ed., 1964. Ethiopian Studies. Papers
read at the Second International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Manchester, July [8-11]
1963), Manchester (special issue of the Journal of Semitic Studies, 9/1).
37 Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa 1966.
Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, vol. I, 1969, vol. II,
1970, vol. Ill, 1970.
58 Cernili, Enrico, ed., 1974. IV Congresso Internazionale di Studi Etiopici (Roma, 10-15
Aprile 1972). Roma: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, (Accademia dei Lincei 371, Problemi
Attuali di Scienza e di Cultura 191), vol. I: sezione storica, vol. II: sezione linguistica.
59 Tubiana, Joseph, ed., 1980. Modem Ethiopia from the Accession of Menilek II to the
Present. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies [Session A],
Nice, 19-22 December 1977. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
60 Chojnacki, Stanislaw, 1970. "Notes on art in Ethiopia in the 15th and Early 1 6th Century",
Journal of Ethiopian Studies , VIII/2, pp. 21-65, ill.; Id., 1971. "Notes on art in Ethiopia in the
16th century: an enquiry into the unknown", Journal of Ethiopian Studies , IX/2, pp. 21-97, ill.
PICES 5b, 1978, Chicago, Proceedings, 197961
There was one paper by Marilyn Heldman, titled "The Kibran Gospels: Ethiopia and
Byzantium".
PICES 7, 1982, Lund, Sweden, Proceedings, 198462
There were four articles published in the proceedings which are very detailed studies,
contrary to the paper by Jules Leroy in 1963. They were by Balicka-Witakowska's
"Observations sur l'iconographie de l'Annonciation dans la peinture éthiopienne" ;
Marilyn Heldman's "The Role of the Devotional Image in Emperor Zar'a Ya'eqob's
Cult of Mary"; Czilla F. Perczel's "Ethiopian painting: Sources, causes and effects of
foreign influences in the 16th/17th centuries", and Veronika Six's "Bemerkungen zur
Darstellung "Maria mit dem Jesusknaben" in der äthiopischen Malerei".
PICES 8, 1984, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 1988/8963
There was one article by Claude Lepage titled "Bilan des Recherches sur l'Art
Médiéval d'Ethiopie. Quelques Résultats Historiques".
PICES 9, 1986, Moscow, Proceedings, 198864
There was again one article by Lepage, "Prototypes de deux Tétraévangiles du

XIVe siècle à cycle court de trois miniatures".
61 Hess, Robert L., ed., 1979. Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Ethiopian
Studies, session B, April 13-16, 1978, Chicago. Chicago: Office of Publications Services,
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle.
62 Rubenson, Sven, ed., 1984. Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of
Ethiopian Studies, University of Lund, 26-29 April 1982 , Addis Ababa - Uppsala - East
Lansing.
63 Taddese Beyene, ed., 1988/89. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference of
Ethiopian Studies. University of Addis Ababa (26-30 November 1984)] . Addis Ababa -
Frankfurt-am-Main, 2 vols.
64 Gromyko, A., ed. Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Ethiopian Studies.
Moscow, 26-29 August 1986. Moscow: Nanka Publishers - Central Department of Oriental
Literature, 6 vols.
JES, Vol. XLII, N 0.1-2 (June-December 2009)
PICES 10, 1988, Paris, Proceedi
There were two articles on chu

Hébreux dans la fournaise. U
éthiopienne", and another by Le
d'un catalogue des manuscrits an
PICES 11, 1991, Addis Ababa, P
There was one paper by Elizabe

on Ethiopian Church Painting, Fo
PICES 12, 1994, East Lansing
There was one article by Annegr

in the Haus Voelker and Kulturen Museum".
PICES 13, 1997, Kyoto, Proceedings, Pre-conference68
There were two articles one by Tania Costa Tribe, "The Word in the Desert: The
Wail-Paintings of Debra Maryam Korkor (Ger'alta, Tigray)" and another by Jacques
Mercier, "Manuscrits enluminés provenant du trésor de l'église du Mâdhané Aläm de
Mäqdäla et conservés dans les collections publiques britanniques".
65 Lepage, Claude, ed., 1994. Études éthiopiennes . Actes de la Xe conférence internationale

des études éthiopiennes , Paris , 24-28 Août 1988. Paris: Publication de la Société française
d'études éthiopiennes.
66 Bahru Zewde, Pankhurst, Richard, Taddese Beyene, ed., 1994. Proceedings of the Eleventh
International Conference of Ethiopian Studies , Addis Ababa, April 1-6 1991. Addis Ababa:
Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, 2 vols.
67 Marcus, Harold G., 1994. New trends in Ethiopian Studies. Papers of the 12th International
Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Michigan State University. 5-10 September 1994.
Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press, 2 vols.
68 Katsuyoshi, Fukui, Eisei, Kurimoto, Masayoshi, Shigeta, ed., Ethiopia in Broader
Perspective. Papers of the XI 1 1th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Kyoto , 12-17
December 1997, Kyoto: Shokado Book Sellers, 3 vols.
PICES 14, 2000, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 200269
There were five papers one of which was by Elisabeth Biasio titled "An
iconographical and structural particularity in the representation of the legend of
bâla'é säb Orthodox Church" and the second by Ian Campbell on "Byzantine
Iconography at the court of Zara Ya'icob: an analysis of the sacred geometry of 15th
century Ethiopia". Chojnacki had also a paper titled "A new aspect on Shoan art: the
discovery of an outstanding folding strip". Girma Fisseha's paper on "Depictions of
St. Mary in Ethiopian Painting from the 15th century to the Present Day" and
Annegret Marx's "Indigo, Smalt, Ultramarine - a change of blue paints in traditional
Ethiopian church paintings in the 1 9th - Century sets as benchmark for dating" were
among the five.
PICES 15, 2003, Hamburg, Proceedings, 200670
Here there were three papers; one was by Bosc-Tiessé, Claire, "Creating an
Iconographie Cycle: the Acts of Wälättä Petras and the Emergence of Qwärata as a
Place of Asylum", and the other by Ian Campbell, "An analysis of the architectural
canons of the Church of Yemrehanna Krestos". The third was by Michael Gervers on
"The Rock-Cut Church of Maryam Dengelat (Haramat, Tegray)".
PICES 16, 2007, Trondheim, Norway, Proceedings, in Progress
There was one article titled "Art as a Regional Marker? Questions on the Political
Identity and the Government of Lasta (ca. 1660-1750)" by Bosc-Tiessé, Claire
69 Baye Yimam, Pankhurst, Richard, Chappie, David, Yonas Admassu, Pankhurst, Alula,
Birhanu Teferra, ed., 2002. Ethiopian Studies at the End oj the Second Millennium.
Proceedings of the XlVth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, November 6-11,
2000, Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies - Addis Ababa University, 3
vols.
70 Uhlig, Siegbert, ed., 2006. Proceedings of the XVth International Conference of Ethiopian
Studies, Hamburg 2003. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Appendix II
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON THE HISTORY OF
ETHIOPIAN ART (ICHEA)
ICHEA 1, 1986, London, Proceedings, 198671:

There were the following papers:
Balicka-Witakowska, Ewa. "The Iconography of the Deposition in E

Painting"
Heldman, Marilyn E. "An Ewostathian Style and the Gunda Gunde Style in
Fifteenth-Century Ethiopian Manuscript Illumination"
Henze, Paul B. "Lake Zway - Southern Christian Outpost and Repository of
Medieval Ethiopian Art"
Juel-Jensen, Bent. "An Aksumite Survival in Late Mediaeval Ethiopian
Miniatures"
Perczel, Csilla Farbo. "Ethiopian Illustrated Ornament"

Playne, Beatrice. "Reflections on the Decoration of Bieta Mariam, Lalibela"
Spencer, Diana. "The Discovery of Brancaleon's Paintings"
Tedeschi, Salvatore. "Le portrait inédit du negus Lebnä-Dengel ayant
appartenu à l'historien Paolo Giovio"
Uhlig, Siegbert. "Funktion und Bedeutung der Ornamente in äthiopischen
Kodizes"
ICHEA 2, 1990, Nieborów, Poland, Proceedings, 199372
The papers presented were the following:

Chojnacki, Stanislaw. "The Theme of the Bitter Water in Ethiopian Painting"
Girma Elias. "A Note on the Wall Paintings in Balči Ammānu'ēl (Sankorā
Ammānu'ēl Church)"
Jenkins, Earnestine. "Four Miniatures from 18th- 19th Century Šawā - an
African Perspective?"
Pankhurst, Richard. "Falāšā-Christian or Christian-Falāšā Art?"
71 Proceedings of the First International Conference of the History of Ethiopian Art. held at
the Warburg Institute, 21-22 October 1986, London, Pindar Press.
72 Henze, Paul B., ed., 1993. Aspects of Ethiopian Art from Ancient Axum to the Twentieth
Century. London: The Jed Press.
Pankhurst, Richard. "A Note on the Coming to Gondar of the Painting of the
Virgin of Santa Maria Maggiore"
Spencer, Diana. "The Monastery of Aheya Faģģ Qusqwäm in Wallo - its
Illuminated Manuscripts and Other Treasures"
Zanotti Eman, Carla. "The Hārag of the Manuscripts of Gunda Gundi"
Zurawski, Bogdan. "Nubia and Ethiopia in the Christian Period - Some
Affinities"
ICHEA 3, 1993, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, not published.
ICHEA 4, 1996, Trieste, Italy, Proceedings, not, published.
ICHEA 5, 1999, Arrábida, Portugal, Proceedings 200473:

The following were presented:
Bosc-Tiessé, Claire. "The Use of Occidental Engravings in Ethiopian Painting
in the 17th and 18lh centuries"
Chojnacki, Stanislaw. "Ethiopian Warrior Saints in 18th-Century Miniatures

and their Significance in the Cultural History of Ethiopia"
Costa Tribe, Tania. "Place, Space and Representation in 18"' Century
Gondarine Painting
Gervers, Michael. "The Portuguese Import of Luxury Textiles to Ethiopia in
the 16th and 17th
Centuries and their Subsequent Artistic Influence"

Wion, Anaïs. "An Analysis of 1 7th-Century Ethiopian Pigments",
ICHEA 6, 2002, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 200374:
The papers presented include:

Bausi, Alessandro. "Some Short Remarks on the Canon Tables in Ethiopie
Manuscripts",
Campbell, Ian. "An Introduction to Form and Spatial Construction in
73 Ramos, Manuel João, Boavida, Isabel, ed., 2004. The Indigenous and The Foreign in
Christian Ethiopian Art. On Portuguese-Ethiopian Contacts in the 16th -17th centuries. Papers
from the Fifth International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art ( Arrábida , 26-30
October 1999). London: Ashgate.
74 Birhanu Teferra, Pankhurst, Richard, ed., 2003. Proceedings of the Sixth International
Conference on the Histoiy of Ethiopian Art. Addis Ababa, 5-8 November 2002. Addis Ababa:
Institute of Ethiopian Studies - Addis Ababa University.
Ethiopian Iconography",
Chojnacki, Stanislaw. "Attempts a
Summary from 1960 to the Pre
Henze, Paul B. "Weynam Kidane M
Preservation"
Me Ewan, Robin. "The Revelation Illuminations of Qwesqwam and Derasge

as Assertions of Political Destiny"
Pankhurst, Richard. "Four Little-known Eighteenth Century Ethiopian
Artists", pp. 152-163.
ICHEA 7, 2007, Leipzig, together with the 10th Orbis Aethiopicus Conference on
"Centenary of Diplomatic Relations between Germany and Ethiopia"
Proceedings, 200775
Papers include:
Balicka-Witakowska, Ewa. "The Wall-Paintings in the Sanctuary of the
Church of Gännätä Maryam near Lalibäla"
Chaillot, Christine. "Veneration of Icons in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church"
Chojnacki, Stanislaw. "New Discoveries: the Italianate School reconsidered"
Gervers, Michael. "Two late sixteenth century Roman engravings from the
rock-cut church of Maryam Dengelat (Haremat, Tigray)",
Henze, Paul B. "Church and monastery treasures of Tigray"
Pankhurst, Richard. "Detached Ethiopian Illustrated Manuscripts Folios from
Maqdala"
75 The programme of the conference, different from the proceedings, is given on pp. XIII-XVI.

A Century of Research On Ethiopian Church Painting - A Brief Overview

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Institute of Ethiopian Studies

A Century of Research on Ethiopian Church Painting: A Brief Overview

In this paper, I shall attempt to offer an overview of the history of rese

To this end, I look at the different steps of the historiography of Ethiopian c

Stanislaw Chojnacki twice proposed a critical history of different essays in order to

On this occasion of the 50th Jubilee of the International Conferences of Ethiopian

2. THE BEGINNINGS OF ETHIOPIAN ART HISTORY

Studies on Ethiopian painting began with the publications of Sir Ernest A

2 He is beginning with the studies done in the 1950s: Chojnacki, Stanislaw

introduced the first essay on Ethi

Budge was interested in Ethiopian

5 Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis, 1898

2.1 THE DAKAR-DJIBOUTI MISSION OF THE 1930'S

Another important moment for the emergence of scientific thinking about E

17"' - century. Once again, as w

Marcel Griaule had already led

In 1932, after diplomatic and p

2.2 THE EARLY STUDIES ON ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS

The attitude of the Italian archaeologist Ugo Monneret de Villard at the

2.3 DISCOVERIES AND INVENTORIES FROM THE 1930'S TO THE

restorations.18 He focused his atte

During the 1950's and 1960's, som

In 1955, on the occasion of the 25

18 Fiaccadori, Gianfranco, 2007. "Mo

3. ICONOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH: ORIGIN AND MODELS

23 Leroy, Jules, 1960. "L'Évangéliaire éthiopien du couvent d'Abba Garima e

decoration in Ethiopian Gospe

Leroy also directed a book wh

3.1 THE MUSEUM OF ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

3.2 A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THE STUDY OF MURALS

The extensive experience of Antonio Mordini, the inventory of the ro

the third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa in 1966, 31

At the same time, French scholars t

3.3 THE FIRST EXHIBITIONS OF ETHIOPIAN ART IN EUROPE

A decade later, another exhibition titled Ethiopie millénaire. Préhistoire et art

4. PROFESSIONALIZATION OF ETHIOPIAN ART HISTORY IN

During the same period, an American scholar, Marilyn Heldman, in

38 Koptische Kunst. Christentum am Nil. Katalog der Ausstellung in der Villa H

One the one hand, she reconstitute

In parallel, Ewa Balicka-Witak

4.1 A SECOND TURNING POINT

Frē ®eyon. A Study in Fifteenth Century Ethiopian Art., Pmtmimge an

Tigrai churches44 and a thorough analysis of paintings from Betä Maryam in

Amongst the epoch-making exhibitions is African Zion , organized at Addis Ababa

4.2 ATTEMPTS TOWARDS DATING AND CONTEXTUALISATION

Studying the Gondarine paintings especially those of Gondär and L

All types of studies are necessary and supplementary. As a late com

However, I should stress the fact that though there is a long w

Appendix I: PAPERS ON ART HISTORY IN PICES

PICES 1, 1959, Roma, Proceedings, 19605:>

PICES 2, 1963, Manchester, Proceedings, 1964s6

PICES 3, 1966, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 1969 and 197057

PICES 5a, 1977, Nice, France, Proceedings, 198059

PICES 5b, 1978, Chicago, Proceedings, 197961

PICES 7, 1982, Lund, Sweden, Proceedings, 198462

PICES 8, 1984, Addis Ababa, Proceedings, 1988/8963

PICES 9, 1986, Moscow, Proceedings, 198864

There was again one article by Lepage, "Prototypes de deux Tétraévangiles du

PICES 10, 1988, Paris, Proceedi

There were two articles on chu

PICES 11, 1991, Addis Ababa, P

There was one paper by Elizabe

PICES 12, 1994, East Lansing