Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 10 pages
obj
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory. For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.

Source Description

This Ethopian sensul, or "chain" manuscript, was made in the seventeenth century in the Gondarine region. It was created out of a single folded strip of parchment attached to heavy hide "boards" at each end, creating a small book when folded. Comprised solely of inscribed images, this pocket-sized manuscript would have served a devotional function for its owner, who while unidentified, inscribed the first image with a note reminding people under the threat of excommunication not to steal or erase the manuscript. Narrative illuminations, which tell the story of the Virgin Mary, allow for private meditation. The book can also function as something of an icon, for when it is opened to the middle and stood on end, the facing figures of St. George and the Virgin and Child form a small diptych, resembling other icons of this era.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
663
label
Gondarine sensul
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
10
Source metadata
id
663
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Gondarine sensul
description
This Ethopian sensul, or "chain" manuscript, was made in the seventeenth century in the Gondarine region. It was created out of a single folded strip of parchment attached to heavy hide "boards" at each end, creating a small book when folded. Comprised solely of inscribed images, this pocket-sized manuscript would have served a devotional function for its owner, who while unidentified, inscribed the first image with a note reminding people under the threat of excommunication not to steal or erase the manuscript. Narrative illuminations, which tell the story of the Virgin Mary, allow for private meditation. The book can also function as something of an icon, for when it is opened to the middle and stood on end, the facing figures of St. George and the Virgin and Child form a small diptych, resembling other icons of this era.
provenance
Robert and Nancy Nooter Collection, Washington, D.C., before 1996, and mode of acquisition unknown] [Nooter 20.4]; Walters Art Museum, 1996, by purchase.
date
late 17th century (Gondarine)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
sensul
paintings
books
illuminated manuscripts
imageCount
10
pageCount
10
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.6
height
58.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 x W unfolded: 23 in. (7.62 x 58.42 cm); H each panel: 3 5/8 x W: 3 1/8 in. (9.2 x 9 cm)
Source extras
cul
Christian Highland Ethiopian
RelatedObjects
90665
90664
90663
90662
90661
90660
90659
90658
90657
med
ink and paint on medium weight parchment, covered with upper and lower boards made of heavy undecorated hide, stitched to ends of parchment strip
creator_ids
6264
collection_ids
ETH
MSS
exhibition_ids
1958
955
2128
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
cc843761bc426f27
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
08494fe6af4459a8
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
c30349e6a1be97f5
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
071d3be3cae5401b
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
c2ff68ee9e9d75f9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
3c1077554e74d8c1
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
7
type
photo
mediaId
a5d71b98e3f2d2f9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
8
type
photo
mediaId
57bdb3486670b53d
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
9
type
photo
mediaId
d2b307fce620fc61
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
10
type
photo
mediaId
3387391d552d3990
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no