Exhibition: Christian Art and Faith in the Ethiopian Empire

Exhibition: Christian Art and Faith in the Ethiopian Empire, UCL Cloisters (September–October 2022)

Contents

• Introduction
• Ethiopian Churches
• Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos
• Gännätä Maryam | Yoḥannǝs Mäʿaquddi | Maryam Dǝngǝlat
• Baharä Maryam

• Qorqor Maryam | Qorqor Danǝʾel | Yǝmʾata Guḥ

Ethiopian Christianity 

Ethiopia, in East Africa, is home to people of many different faiths including Waaqeffanna, Islam, and Christianity. The history of Ethiopian Christianity dates back to mid-4th century AD, when the ruler of the Aksumite Empire ʿEzana converted to Christianity. Its adoption as a state religion is evidenced by the appearance of crosses on coins from this period. The Ethiopian Empires continued to be ruled by emperors until the deposition of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 AD.

Most Christians in Ethiopia are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches – a group that includes churches in Syria, Armenia, India and Egypt.  Christian Ethiopians needed churches, service books, and many other objects to practice their faith. Hundreds of churches, dating from the 4th to the 15th centuries AD, are scattered across the country. They were built using a variety of materials and techniques that resist generalization and attest to the achievements and devotion of artists and patrons from this region. The best-known examples include the cathedral of Aksum, the monastic church of Däbrä Dammo (1.2), and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibäla and Tigray (1.3). Ethiopian churches from this period were decorated with lavish wall paintings and were repositories of revered ancient objects such as illustrated manuscripts and crosses (1.4).

Ethiopian wall paintings

This display focuses on the technology and significance of Christian Ethiopian wall paintings that are found in a range of architectural settings including rock-cut churches and free-standing structures. These churches are located in variety of settings including plains, inaccessible mountain peaks (8.3), lakeshores (2.3), and inside caves (3.1).

Ethiopian artists employed a wide variety of themes, styles and wall painting technologies. At times, the interior of churches also featured elaborate painted carvings (3.2). Their images frequently show episodes inspired by the Old and New Testaments alongside historical figures and holy men and women (7.2). Paint was applied directly onto rock-cut surfaces, or onto gypsum and/or earth-based plasters. On top of the latter, white clay-based ground layers are often found. From about the second half of the 17th century wall surfaces were sometimes prepared with thin plaster slips, into which fine loose-weave cloth was incorporated and a ground layer applied on top (4.3), and in the 19th century, thick sections of cloth were glued onto walls.

It is difficult to characterise developments in the use and variety of paint materials and their application techniques, as much analytical study remains to be done and there are many gaps in our knowledge. Through their empire’s extensive political and trading network, Ethiopian artists had access to a variety of materials and artworks imported from South and East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, which they selectively included in their work. The hieratic nature and technical restraint displayed in their work was certainly an intentional choice by the religious communities they worked for rather than an imposed necessity (1.4). Emperors (4.1), monks (5.1), clergymen, nobles, and ordinary individuals could commission artworks for a variety of spiritual and devotional reasons. Ethiopian wall paintings can thus be analysed to further our understanding of the social, political, material, and religious history of Christians living within the Ethiopian Empire.

Centres of Spirituality

For Ethiopian Orthodox Christians their faith is central to their everyday lives. The Church is at the heart of worship, especially on Sundays and feast days. There are many large and colourful religious feasts in the ecclesiastical calendar year, including the Finding of the Cross (Mäsqäl), Christmas (Lǝdät), Epiphany (Ṭǝmqät), and Easter (Fasika). There are also annual and monthly feasts dedicated to St Mary, the angels, saints, and martyrs. 

Many of these feasts are preceded by fasting seasons, which take up nearly 200 days of the year, and involve liturgical services, procession, and pilgrimage. Pilgrims travel to famous historical churches and monasteries dedicated to a holy person. Important destinations include Aksum, Lalibäla, Gǝšän Maryam, Gondär, Kullubi Gäbrǝʾel, and the monasteries of Lake Tana.

Repositories of Knowledge & Art

In Christian communities in Ethiopia, especially in rural areas, churches function as important centres for the religious and secular lives of the people who live in their proximity. Here a child may attend reading classes, a youth may come to know their future husband or wife, adults may settle their feuds and land disputes, the homeless and sick may take shelter, and so on. The churchyard is a space where people may find solace from some of their troubles or where they remember their loved ones buried there.

Some Ethiopian churches are also sites where ancient wall paintings are preserved alongside illuminated manuscripts, processional crosses and holy vessels. These buildings may thus serve as the physical and emotional repositories of the memories, history, art, and knowledge of their parishioners.

Sites of Biodiversity

Visitors to northern Ethiopia often notice dense forest surrounding churches on many of the hilltops in an otherwise treeless landscape. In the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia the grounds of churches and monasteries are among the few sites that maintain native forest biodiversity. Because this land is viewed as sacred, these church forests provide precious and safe habitats for many endangered species. They can thus be viewed as important storehouses of genetic diversity and natural museums offering evidence of the type of vegetation that once covered their surrounding areas. 

Some church forests have been preserved for centuries. They provide tranquil spaces for prayers, they shelter the church and its saints, and Christians view them as symbols of the Garden of Eden and as evidence of the life-giving nature of faith.

Background

Concealed deep within a cave about 12 km northeast of Lalibäla in the Lasta district are two of Ethiopia’s most important post-Aksumite buildings: the church of Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos and a nearby ‘palace’ (Fig. 3.1). The cave is located on a lower slope of Mount Abunä Yosef within a forest of junipers, olives, and cedars. Its wide, low entrance opens under an escarpment of grey basalt over which a waterfall periodically cascades.

A later foundation legend holds that the 12th-century priest-king, Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos, was directed by the Archangel Gabriel to build a church on top of the cave’s subterranean lake. The king is reputed to have retired to the sacred site. Although scholars disagree on its exact construction date, the church is certainly early and of royal foundation. The building period of the palace is also uncertain: while architectural evidence indicates a different construction phase than that of the church, it appears closely related to it in both style and date. 

The church, one of the marvels of Ethiopian architecture, employs alternating bands of recessed timber beams and projecting plastered stonework – a technique that recalls late antique Aksumite precedents. The interior has a basilica plan comprising a nave and two aisles, three bays in length, divided by arcades of round arches carried on massive free-standing stone piers with wooden bracket capitals. Above the central section of the nave is a fenestrated clerestory that supports a magnificent saddle-back timber roof. At the east end, a central sanctuary with a cupola opens onto the nave and is flanked by two closed rooms, known as pastophoria. These were originally used for Eucharistic preparations and for housing sacred objects.

Wall Paintings

The interior is richly decorated with carvings and paintings. The spandrels between the nave arcades are lined with thick wooden boards, intricately carved with geometric patterns, painted in combinations of blue, green, orange, red and white. Within the saddle-back roof, intersecting purlins and rafters create flat square panels, which are similarly carved and painted, as are the blind windows at clerestory level (Fig. 3.2). Expensive pigments were used with striking extravagance. Scientific examination and analysis have identified the colours as vermilion, red lead, green earth, orpiment, and ultramarine. It is noteworthy that ultramarine, the rarest and most expensive blue pigment, was chosen for decorating extensive parts of the church. Adding to a lavishness that testifies to unstinting royal patronage, the exterior was also richly painted, including with ultramarine blue. Although the traces of paint are mostly lost, and the decoration of the interior is difficult to discern beneath centuries of grime, the original intent must have been to turn the church into a place of exceptional religious veneration through means of dazzling opulence.

No less remarkable are the figurative wall paintings that occupy a small part of the interior at the east end of the north aisle. Their style and quality demonstrate close connections with Coptic art from Egypt. Carefully selected episodes from Christ’s life, death, and resurrection emphasise his dual sacrificial and triumphant role. The Arrival of the Holy Family in Egypt on the north wall prefigures Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem on the east wall (Fig. 3.3), with both scenes depicted as triumphal processions. The Baptism of Christ is paired with Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples in acts of ceremonial cleansing at the beginning and end of Christ’s ministry. The iconography of the wall paintings and their placement in front of one of the pastophoria imbues them with liturgical significance.

Technological findings show that the paintings were a later addition to the architecture. A separate layer of plaster was applied over the recessed wooden beams in the walls to provide a level base for the painting. The palette differs in key respects from that of the decoration of the church: ultramarine is absent and instead the organic colourant, indigo was used.

Gännätä Maryam

The church of Gännätä Maryam (“Garden of Mary”) is a beautiful rock-hewn church located near the holy town of Lalibäla. This basilica sits upon a podium inspired by late antique Ethiopian architecture and is surrounded by an exterior colonnade of square piers. It was probably built as a replica of the Church of Mary of Zion in Aksum, the most sacred church for Orthodox Christian Ethiopians.

The interior and exterior of the church are decorated with wall paintings. Those in the interior were probably executed onto gypsum plaster but the technology has not yet been analysed. The decoration of the church was probably sponsored by the Ethiopian emperor Yǝkunno Amlak (1270–85), founder of the Solomonic dynasty, who is depicted in its wall paintings.

Yoḥannǝs Mäʿaquddi

Opinions about the date of Yoḥannǝs Mäʿaquddi diverge, ranging from mid-14th to mid-17th century. Churches hewn out of rock are difficult to date as the subtractive nature of carving leads to the destruction of earlier phases of creation and often, builders drew inspiration from earlier church types.

Wall paintings can be easier to date, even if they are not necessarily coeval with the church’s foundation. Those in Yoḥannǝs Mäʿaquddi bear an inscription that identifies their patron’s name and records that they were executed in “the 26th year of Emperor Fasilädäs’s reign” (1675 CE). Among the 60 painted figures and scenes found in this church are also portraits of contemporary figures including the donor and Emperor Fasilädäs. This ruler is credited with establishing the city of Gondär as his capital.

Maryam Dǝngǝlat

There are two churches dedicated to Mary at Dǝngǝlat: a new one, at road level, and an ancient rock-hewn church located on a steep slope. The structure may have been built between the 14th and 15th centuries, but a series of rockfalls demolished part of the structure and led to its abandonment after the 17th century. It is now virtually inaccessible.

The interior of the surviving portion of the church contains paintings of exceptional quality dating to the mid-17th century and executed on cloth attached to the walls. Western prints dating to the late 16th and 17th century are pasted on its walls and attest to the presence of Europeans at this time. The current almost pristine condition of the wall paintings is probably due to its inaccessibility.

Background

"Knowing that earthly life is transitory, this, the Temple of Peter, has been raised up by Qäwǝsṭos, Guardian of Amba Sänayti, in hope of the mercy of Christ in Heaven. You, Priests and Deacons, do not forget him in your prayers and sacraments. Always remember his name."

This exhortation is written in Ge’ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church. It is part of a rare dedicatory inscription that accompanies the wall paintings at Baharä Maryam in Tigray. It gives insight into church patronage and its relationship with land ownership, and it indicates that the church was originally dedicated to St Peter, who is designated as “chief of the Apostles” in one of the paintings. Hewn into a sandstone cliff overlooking the Sullo river in the region of Amba Sänayti, about 26 km north of Ḥawzen, the interior has a tripartite plan, with pillars dividing a barrel-vaulted nave from flat-roofed side aisles, and two apsidal chambers at the east end. Its construction and wall paintings can be attributed to the late 14th or early 15th century.

Wall Paintings

The wall paintings originally covered the entire church interior. Today, surviving painting shows standing apostles and evangelists on the pillars, while a bishop and archangels flank the sanctuary. Each figure is identified by attributes and texts, and by subtly differentiated postures, hand gestures and glances, and richly patterned vestments. They functioned both as saintly models and aids to prayer. The paintings are not done directly onto the excavated rock surface but on gypsum plaster applied over this in adjoining patches. The outlines of the figures were sketched in red paint or incised into the plaster. Straight edges and borders were established with ruled or snapped lines, and grids were employed for setting out decorative features such as the knotwork designs that adorn the capitals. Halo outlines were drawn with compasses. Analysis shows that the pigments include charcoal black, red and yellow iron oxide, and green earth, which were applied with an animal glue binding medium. Probably derived from minerals found widely in Ethiopia, these colours constitute the standard palette of other painted churches. At Baharä, however, the technical evidence indicates that they were carefully sourced for their quality and were expertly prepared before use. They were also applied with discriminating skill. For example, pigment volume ratios were varied to achieve contrasting matte and saturated effects in the stripes of some of the garments.

The expensive yellow arsenic sulfide pigment orpiment, prized for its bright colour, was used in abundance for the figures’ halos and on the stripes of their garments. Now mostly faded over time, this brilliant yellow colour is still preserved in some places, giving an impression of how the paintings originally appeared. While often used sparingly for details and highlight in other churches, such as Abunä Abrǝham, at Baharä the pigment is used lavishly. It would have originally conveyed a stunning effect, showing that Qäwǝsṭos’s devotion led him to spare no expense in having his church painted.

As with other Ethiopian churches, Baharä’s paintings have been exposed to deterioration and alteration over time. Additional colours may have originally been present that are now barely recognisable or lost. There is some evidence that an organic red pigment was used at Baharä, adding another level of colour refinement. In manuscript illuminations of the period which closely parallel the wall paintings in their style, blue features prominently as a background colour. The organic colourant, indigo, has been identified in this context. Susceptible to light-induced fading, it is a distinct possibility that the panels behind a number of the standing figures, which now appear colourless, were originally painted with blue indigo.

Qorqor Maryam

In the northern part of the Ethiopian province of Tigray lies the Gärʿalta region. Thanks to its characteristic easily carved sandstone, this region is home to numerous rock-hewn churches. One of these is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary known as Qorqor Maryam.

According to tradition, its murals were executed in the thirteenth century by the saint Abba Danǝʾel of Däbrä Maryam, making them among the earliest in the region. This dating seems to be corroborated by art historical analysis and an inscription in the church which reveals that Danǝʾel was responsible for its painting and was the intellectual driving force behind its unique and complex iconography. The role of Ethiopian holy men in making and painting their churches is a distinctive feature of monastic foundations at this time.

Qorqor Danǝʾel

Located higher up on the Qorqor mountain, a few hundred meters from the church of Qorqor Maryam, one finds a small oratory dedicated to the same Abba Danǝʾel that created Dabra Maryam. Danǝʾel was the spiritual father of Ewosṭatewos, a famous head of a dissident monastic movement in Ethiopia in the first half of the fourteenth century.

Comparison between the painting in the two Qorqor sites shows technical divergence. Both sets of painting share a palette of red and yellow iron oxide, and green earth. But the pigments used in Maryam suggest total reliance on locally sourced materials: the dullness of the green earth pigment is probably due to its conspicuously low iron content, which may indicate its sourcing from mudrock found at the base of the Qorqor massif. In Danǝʾel the pigments are of superior quality and must have been acquired from more distant locations.

Yǝmʾata Guḥ

Another church in the Gärʿalta region is Yǝmʾata Guḥ, which is spectacularly located high above the arid plain. The church can only be reached by climbing the sandstone rock face. Possibly of a later date than the churches on the Qorqor mountain, this church is dedicated to Saint Yǝmʾatta, one of the Nine Saints: these were foreign monks who, according to tradition, came from the Mediterranean region in the fifth or sixth century and contributed to the spread of Christianity in the Aksumite Empire.

In the image shown here, Saint Yǝmʾatta is on horseback, while the other Nine Saints appear on the carved dome of the ceiling. Among them are Abba Arägawi, who is considered as the founder of the mountain monastery of Däbrä Dammo (See Fig. 1.2) which he reputedly reached by holding onto a snake. Abba Gärima, founder of the homonymous monastery that holds two precious late antique illuminated manuscripts, is also recognizable among these holy men.