Ethiopia, ca. 17th to 19th century CE. This is a handwritten, vellum Coptic Bible in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) with a beautiful color illustration of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child in a distinctive Ethiopian style. The pages are bound between two thick dark wooden covers and the binding is woven natural string. The names of the Saints in the text are highlighted with red marks. The Ge'ez language is what most of the literature of Christian Abyssinia is written in and comes from the ancient Aksumitic Empire. Ethiopia can lay a claim to being one of the oldest Christian countries and they practice a distinctive form of the religion, embodied in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which has a large and diverse Biblical canon, much of which would not be familiar to other Christians. Books like these are difficult to date; the oldest known are from the 13th century. Size: 3" L x 7" W x 7.25" H (7.6 cm x 17.8 cm x 18.4 cm).

Provenance: Estate of M. Reiniger, Chicago, IL

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#111546

The binding is fragile, and the page edges show extensive signs of wear on the edges; however, when opened, the artwork and writing are clear, with very little fading/wear.