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figure 10
figure 11
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Among the forms most imaginatively and skillfully
reinvented by Ethiopian artists, not only have several distinctive
regional styles of crosses flourished but within those genres there
has been astonishing creative originality and variation. Made predominantly
from bronze cast according to the lost-wax method, each cross is
created as an original artifact. Over the centuries, relatively bold
austere designs have been displaced by increasingly elaborate and
baroque ones. The tendency for an overarching cross form to be composed
of a proliferation of internal crosses suggests regional associations
of the cross with the foliage of the tree of life. Earliest of the
examples extant in churches are the “Lalibela” crosses,
which are dated to between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
(Phillipson, Monuments, 138). Their distinctive, elongated, symmetrical
pear-shaped form emphasizes flowing lateral arabesque extensions.
According to this configuration, a central cruciform, which may be
a double or triple cross, is set under a graceful arc that evokes
an antique triumphal arch. The form may be circumscribed by a two-
or three-lobed mandorla to which are attached multiple pairs of wings.
These refer to Ezekiel’s
vision of the Four Beasts carrying the throne of God (Walters,
48). Given their openwork designs, these objects produce dramatic
silhouettes during processions. Griffith Mann has suggested that
when held up to the sky, this motif may be equated with the sign of Christ
that appeared in the heavens to announce the Second Coming according to
the Gospel of Matthew (Walters, 76).
Surviving inscriptions document that individual
patrons commissioned and bequeathed crosses to specific centers
in the hope of securing salvation. During the Zagwe dynasty, artisans
responsible for creating such works for churches and elite patrons
were monks trained in religious communities. In addition to processional
crosses, they created wall paintings, illuminated manuscripts,
and devotional images such as icons. They were influenced by late
antique and medieval Byzantine models but rejected Greco-Roman
illusionism. Rather than embracing shading and modeling, Ethiopian
painters emphasized carefully delineated outlines filled with bold
areas of flat color and dynamic passages of abstract design (Garlake,
92). Among the most celebrated passages of Ethiopian painting that
can be experienced in situ is the interior of the church of Debra
Berhan Selassie in the city of Gondar. Situated at a trading nexus
south of Axum, Gondar became the capital of Ethiopia just after
1632 (Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, 74). Dedicated to the Trinity, Debra
Berhan was consecrated by Emperor Iyasu I in 1693 Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, (142).
Positioned northeast of the imperial compound on a hill, the original
structure has undergone several reconstructions. Its exuberant
interior paintings in the Second Gondarine style have been dated
to ca 1820 (Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, 146).
In contrast with the uniform soft pink cast of Lalibela’s
stone interiors, Debra Berhan is ablaze with the color of its breathtaking
sequence of paintings spread over every surface. Intended to instill
the faithful with a sense of protection, the ceiling itself, formed
of wooden beams and transverse planks, displays the depiction of
a heavenly canopy. Every beam is painted with alternating red,
white, or blue floral motifs contained in small oblong frames, while the
planks between are painted with stylized angels or seraphim, reduced
to heads with enormous eyes framed by blue and red wings (Munro-Hay, Ethiopia, 145). |
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