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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

The Good Shepherd, aka ኖላዊ፡ ኄር፡ The way the Lord carries the sheep, it almost looks like He's letting it share in His halo. It's probably not intended, but still kind of nice 🐑 Ethiopia, 19th c. (?) #JesusChrist #goodshepherd #halo #mural #africanart

Jesus Christ depicted in Ethiopia as a shepherd holding a lamb on his shoulders.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

"Mom, look at this new friend I found! Can he stay for dinner?" Ethiopia, 18th c. #StMary #VirginMary #BabyJesus #angel #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the Child Jesus bringing an angel to Saint Mary. The image refers to an apocryphal story preserved in the Ethiopic book called Nagara Maryam.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

"Sir, you're invading my personal space…" Ethiopia, 18th–19th c. #angel #personalspace #eyecontact #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of an angel visiting a man in a house. The angel wears a red robe and the man a white blanket with flowers on it. The angel is standing close to the man holding a finger right before his eyes.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

ናሁ፡ ድንግል፡ ትፀንስ፡ ወትወልድ፡ ወልደ፡ ወትሰምዮ፡ ስሞ፡ አማኑኤል። "Behold, the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and she will name Him Immanuel." (Is. 7:14 according to the Ge'ez text) Ethiopia, 18th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #xmas #geez #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the Nativity of Christ. Baby Jesus is lying in a reading cradle surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Joseph, an ox, a donkey, and three angels. At the top and bottom of the images, lines of writing in classical Ethiopic are visible.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

May the prayers of Our Holy Lady the Twofold Virgin Mary the God-Bearer (እግዝእትነ፡ ቅድስት፡ ድንግል፡ በ፪ማርያም፡ ወላዲተ፡ አምላክ፡) carry you through the coming year as She carried Lord Jesus on Her back ❤️ Ethiopia, 18th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #HappyNewYear2026 #africanart

Virgin Mary carrying a sleeping Baby Jesus tightly wrapped on her back. Baby Jesus is sleeping sweetly.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

መጽአ፡ ውስተ፡ ዓለም፡ ወዓለሙኒ፡ ኢክህለ፡ ጸዊሮቶ፡ ጾረቶ፡ ወአግመረቶ፡ ማርያም፨ "He came into the world, but the world could not carry Him. Mary (– on the contrary –) carried and contained Him!" Merry Christmas! 🎄💫 Ethiopia, 14th–15th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #nativity #merrychristmas #geez #africanart

Detail from Ethiopian depiction of the nativity of Christ showing Joseph sitting on a chair, Mary being tended to by the midwife Salome, and Baby Jesus in the manger with an ox and a donkey, all on a light blue background.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

When you're looking at a Ge'ez manuscript and all of a sudden it is looking back at you… 👀 Ethiopia, 18th c. #geez #manuscript #magic #africanmagic #africanart

Image from an Ethiopian magical handbook depicting a cross-shape with five faces painted in black and red.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

In Ethiopian 🇪🇹 and Eritrean 🇪🇷 iconography, the Holy Trinity (ቅድስት፡ ሥላሴ፡) is traditionally depicted as three men with white hair and white beards blessing the observer Ethiopia, 18th c. #trinity #god #blessing #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the Holy Trinity as three men with white hair and white beards dressed in red garments sitting next to each other, each with his right hand raised in blessing.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

So simple, yet it captures the dragon's facial expression so perfectly! 🐉 Ethiopia, 17th–18th c. (?) #saint #george #dragon #africandragon #drawing #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Saint George killing the dragon with a spear drawn in black ink on parchment.

Detail from the other image showing the funny-looking head of the dragon with an expression of genuine surprise.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

በከመ፡ ደመርከ፡ ሥጋ፡ ወልድከ፡ ውስተ፡ ሥጋ፡ ዚአነ፡ ወበከመ፡ ቶሳሕከ፡ ደመ፡ መሲሕከ፡ ውስተ፡ ደመ፡ ዚአነ፡ ከማሁ፡ ደምር፡ ፈሪሆተከ፡ ውስተ፡ አልባቢነ፡ ወስነ፡ አምልኮትከ፡ ውስተ፡ ሕሊናነ። Ethiopia, 18th c. #qiddase #eucharist #eotc #africanchristianity #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of a man receiving the Holy Eucharist.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

One unsurprising but lovely feature of Ethiopian-Eritrean Christianity is that monkeys occasionally play a prominent role in the stories about the saints 🐒 Ethiopia, 18th c. #monkey #africanchristianity #afticanart

On the left, a woman wearing a red skirt and a blue top is standing. A baboon is giving her flowers, while two more baboons observe, sitting on the ground.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

ወባሕቱ፡ አሌ፡ ለክሙ፡ ለአብዕልት፡ እስመ፡ ሰለጥክሙ፡ ትፍሥሕተክመ፨ "But woe to you, O rich ones, for you have received your joy in full!" (Lk 6:24 according to the Ge'ez text) Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #kings #rich #hell #fire #africanart

Ethiopian illumination from a manuscript containing the Life of Saint George. It shows the heads of several dead crowned kings in an ocean of red flames.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

"Let me just purify your lips with this piece of blazing coal real quick" 🔥 Ethiopia, 18th c. #ezekiel #prophet #michael #archangel #coal #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of how the archangel Michael purified with lips of Ezekiel with a burning coal held with a pair of tongs. Ezekiel looks skeptically at the coal.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Ethiopian and Eritrean depictions of the flight to Egypt frequently include Salome, the midwife who was present at Christ's birth, carrying a mesob (መሶብ፡), a basked for storing injera 🇪🇹🇪🇷 Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #StMary #BabyJesus #joseph #salome #injera #mesob #africanart

The Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. The illumination is painted in bright colors with the background mainly in yellow.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

"What are you staring at?" 🦁 Ethiopia, unknown date (16th c.?) #lion #saint #mural #africanart

Ethiopian mural depicting an unidentified saint riding a lion. The lion looks straight at the viewer, whereas the saint looks to the right.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

St Samuel of Waldǝbbā on a deep purple background hits hard 🦁 Ethiopia, 19th c. #saint #samuel #waldebba #lion #ethiopiansaint #africansaint #africanart

The Ethiopian saint Samuel of Waldebba riding a lion while carrying a hand cross and a prayer staff.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

ከመ፡ ፍሕሶ፡ ቀይሕ፡ ከናፍርኪ፡ ጽጌ፨ ስዉጠ፡ ስርናይ፡ ከርሥኪ፡ ወሕፁር፡ በጽጌ፨ "Like a scarlet thread are your lips, O Flower – your belly is a heap of wheat, surrounded by flowers!" 💐 Ethiopia, 19th–20th c. #StMary #BabyJesus #icon #geez #africanart

Ethiopian icon depicting the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus on Her lap. Behind them, Joseph and Salome are standing. Salome offers a flower to Saint Mary. The icon is painted in bright colors, red, blue, yellow, green and white. It has captions in white identifying the depicted persons.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

One thing I love about Ethiopian-Eritrean art is the unexpected details that sometimes appear. In this baptism scene, for example, half the space is filled by trees with the caption "How branches overshadowed (the River) Jordan" 🌿 Ethiopia, AD 1400/1401 #JesusChrist #baptism #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. On both their sides, angels are standing, pointing at the scene. Above them are green branches.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Have you heard about the nun Sophia who got pregnant, and then St Mary sent angels to remove the baby from the nun's womb before she was punished? (Don't worry, the baby got a good new home 👶🏾) Ethiopia, 18th c. #StMary #nun #baby #angel #miraclesofmary #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the story about the nun Sophia. Sophia is sleeping in the middle of the image, an angel is lifting a small baby from her belly. On the right, Saint Mary and Baby Jesus are watching.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

It takes a special kind of trust to lie there calmly with your prayer rope when St Michael the Archangel starts wielding his sword… ⚔️ Ethiopia, 19th c. (?) #michael #archangel #patron #sword #prayerrope #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Saint Michael the archangel wielding a sword. At his feet, a patron dressed in white with a prayer rope in his hand is lying.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Birds kissing on a heart-shaped leaf 💚🌿 Ethiopia, 14th c. #birds #twitterbirds #kiss #africanart

Detail from an Ethiopian arch decorating the Canon Tables. It shows two birds seated on a heart-shaped green leaf on top of a twig. Their beaks touch as if kissing.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Fun fact: The Ge'ez word ሐመር፡ (ḥamar), "ship" is possibly related to Arabic حمار (ḥimār), Hebrew חמור (ḥămôr), and Syriac ܚܡܪܐ (ḥmārā), which all mean "donkey". Are ships the "donkeys of the ocean"? 🌊 ‎Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) ⁦‪#ship‬⁩ ⁦‪#donkey #ocean‬⁩ ⁦‪#etymology‬⁩ ⁦‪#geez‬⁩ ⁦‪#africanart‬⁩

Ethiopian depiction of people on a brownish boat on the middle of a blue ocean with white foam details.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

"I'm gonna show you the deadliest karate moves" 🥋 Ethiopia, 15th c. #paul #saint #apostle #karate #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Saint Paul the Apostle. He wears a red and blue garment and lifts his hands in a way that is reminiscent of a practitioner of martial arts.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

ነአምን፡ ሕማሞ፡ ለዘኢየሐምም፡ ተገምረ፡ ዘኢይትገመር፡ ኃጢኣተነ፡ ነሥአ፡ ዘአልቦ፡ ኃጢኣት፡ ዓርገ፡ ወልድ፡ በስብሐት፡ ውስተ፡ ሰማያት፨ Ethiopia, 15th c. #JesusChrist #ascension #yared #geez #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the Ascension of Christ in a circle carried by the Four living Creatures. The background is red. Below, Saint Mary and the Apostles are standing gazing into the sky. On the right and left of the Apostles, a text in Classical Ethiopic describes the scene.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Baby Jesus playing Simeon the God-Receiver's beard 👴🏽 Ethiopia, 19th c. #BabyJesus #simeon #beard #beardedmen #mural #africanart

Detail from an Ethiopian mural depicting Simeon the God-Receiver holding Baby Jesus while Baby Jesus grabs his beard.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

"People say I'm here just to fill up the blank space, but I think there must be a deeper meaning to my existence…" Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) #humanoid #geez #ethiopianmanuscript #africanart

Page from a manuscript written in Classical Ethiopic. In the bottom right corner, a simple cute humanoid consisting of two triangles with eyes has been drawn.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

When St Michael the Archangel brings you a letter and it just goes on and on and on… 📨 Ethiopia, 20th c. #michael #archangel #letter #shepherd #sheep #africanart

Saint Michael bringing a letter written on a scroll to a shepherd.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

"Hello there, newest successor!" 🦁 /St Peter Ethiopia, 15th c. #peter #apostle #pope #leo #leoxiv #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Saint Peter holding a book in one hand and raising the other hand in greeting or blessing.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

A leopard chair (🐆) and a dolphin book stand (🐬) – yeah! ✌🏾 Ethiopia, 6th c. (?) #saint #mark #evangelist #leopard #dolphin #abbagarima #lateantiquity #christianart #africanart

Depiction of an evangelist seated on a leopard-patterned chair. He is dressed in white and in front of him, a book is resting on a dolphin-shaped book stand.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

The Israelites eating manna in the desert 🍽️ Ethiopia, 20th c. #israelites #oldtestament #manna #africanart

Seven Israelite elders seated at a table eating manna.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

ወነሥኡ፡ ሥጋሁ፡ ለኢየሱስ፡ ወገነዝዎ፡ በመዋጥሕ፡ ዘስንዶናት፡ ምስለ፡ አፈው፡ በከመ፡ ሕገ፡ አይሁድ፡ ዘከመ፡ ይገንዙ። And they took Jesus' body and wrapped it in strips of linen with spices according to the law of the Jews for how to wrap. (Jn 19:40) Ethiopia, 18th c. #JesusChrist #shrouding #goodfriday #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of the Shrouding of Jesus.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

ወነሢኦ፡ ብሒአ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ይቤ፡ ተፈጸመ። ወአጽነነ፡ ርእሶ፡ ወመጠወ፡ ነፍሶ። When he had received the vinegar, Jesus said, "It is finished." And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (Jn 19:30) Ethiopia, 18th c. #JesusChrist #crucifixion #goodfriday #fasika2025 #easter2025 #africanart

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

አስመ፡ ይቤ፡ ዛቲ፡ ዕለት፡ በዓለ፡ እግዚአብሐር፡ ሆሣዕና፡ በአርያም፡ ቡሩክ፡ አንተ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ፳ኤል፨ "For He said: 'This day is a feast of the Lord!' Hosanna in the highest heaven! Blessed are you, King of Israel!" Ethiopia, 1400–1401 AD #JesusChrist #hosanna #donkey #palmsunday #africanart

Ethiopian depiction of Christ's entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

St Mary (سيدتنا مريم العذراء) practicing her Arabic reading skills when St Gabriel the Archangel suddenly appears… 💐 ‎Ethiopia, 18th c. (?) ⁦‪#StMary‬⁩ ⁦‪#gabriel‬⁩ ⁦‪#arabic‬⁩ ⁦‪#flowers‬⁩ ⁦‪#annunciation‬⁩ ⁦‪#africanart‬⁩

Ethiopian depiction of the Annunciation on a yellow background. St Mary is shown next to an Arabic text on a reading pulpit. The angel Gabriel is shown holding a flower in one hand.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Blessings from the ብሉየ፡ መዋዕል፡ ("The Ancient of Days")! Ethiopia, 15th c. #ancientofdays #god #blessing #icon #africanicon #africanart

Excerpt from an Ethiopian icon depicting God as the Ancient of Days with his hand raised in blessing. He is placed in a circle carried by the Four Living Creatures and wears a red and blue garment. In his other hand, he holds a book.

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EthiopicManuscriptArt @artethiopic.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Gold ink, blue ink, red letter framing – such an absolute masterpiece of 14th-century Ethiopian manuscript production! 😍 Ethiopia, 14th c. #gold #goldink #geez #africanmanuscript #dawit #miraclesofmary #africanart

Lavishly decorated page from an Ethiopian manuscript. The page is topped by a headpiece painted in many colors and features gold ink.

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