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| View Original: | Ethiopian - Sensul (Folding Illuminated Book) - Walters 3610 - Open.jpg (1796x379) | |||
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| Keywords: Ethiopian - Sensul (Folding Illuminated Book) - Walters 3610 - Open.jpg Painted on a single strip of parchment this small folding book sometimes described as a sensul assumes a form that first appeared in the 16th century These strips which are typically folded into multiple compartments feature painted decoration and accompanying inscriptions that identify the picture and include short hymns or prayers Two hide covers which might not be original have been stitched onto either end of the strip to create a protective cover The small scale of the object which fits comfortably into a pocket indicates that it was designed for private devotion The book which unfolds to present a miniature picture cycle was perfectly suited to its function The ten panels that make up the object create a pictorial synopsis of the life of Mary beginning with her birth and ending in her assumption into Heaven The fact that each end of the parchment strip incorporates an unpainted margin which in the first panel features an inscription indicates that the cycle is complete In addition to the life of Mary the strip also incorporates some of the features of the painted icon The figure of Saint George who often acted as Mary's messenger appears next to the Virgin and Child adopting a format also common among pendant icons Their placement within the strip allowed the owner to open the parchment to these two scenes thereby creating a diptych icon in miniature The style of the painting which has connections to both panel painting and manuscript illumination suggests that the object was produced during the first Gondarine period perhaps at the end of the 17th century late Other date century 17 Gondarine tempera and ink on parchment hide covers cm 7 62 58 42 accession number 36 10 663 Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection Washington D C date and mode of acquisition unknown Nooter 20 4 Walters Art Museum 1996 by purchase Museum purchase with funds provided by the W Alton Jones Foundation Acquisition Fund 1996 Ethiopian Art at The Walters The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore 1996 Angels of Light Ethiopian Art from the Walters Art Museum Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham; Smith College Museum of Art Northampton; Museum of Biblical Art New York 2006-2007 Shrunken Treasures Miniaturization in Books and Art The Walters Art Museum Baltimore 2009 place of origin Gondar Ethiopia Walters Art Museum license 2D Art of Ethiopia in the Walters Art Museum Church paintings in Ethiopia Paintings in the Walters Art Museum Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review | ||||
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