Select the image to enlarge it
Icons & Paintings
Painted Cloth of the Saints
የቅዱሳን ሥዕል
A large painted cloth showing rows of saints, used to adorn the church walls. Among them are the Nine Saints who came to Ethiopia in the late fifth century and helped translate the Scriptures into Ge’ez.
Why it matters
Ethiopian church walls are often covered from floor to ceiling with paintings, so that the church itself becomes a book that anyone can read.
Object details
- Date
- 19th century
- Material
- Pigments on cotton cloth
- Dimensions
- 120 × 90 cm
- Origin
- Church painter
- Gallery
- Icons & Paintings
Look closely
- Registers of standing saints
- Inscriptions naming each figure
- Painted on locally woven cotton
Illustrative record — to be replaced with the church’s documented object and photograph.