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Diptych with Saint George and the Virgin and Child
Not on view
Panel paintings became widespread in Ethiopia only in the fifteenth century, likely in response to the expansion of Mary’s cult championed by the emperor Zärʾa Yaʿǝqob (1399–1468). This diptych features images popular in Ethiopian art of this period. Here, the Virgin and Child face a mounted Saint George, who, according to contemporary texts, remains at the Virgin’s side when not carrying out a mission on her behalf. Independently, the image of him slaying the dragon to save the princess of Beirut spread across Ethiopia to the eastern Mediterranean and Horn of Africa, inspired by the growing circulation of texts on the saint’s life.
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