Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible.

$3,500.00

Item Number: 145316

Ethiopia:, C. 18th Century.

Rare illustrated Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible. Duodecimo, bound with twine between two wood blocks, parchment manuscript in black and red ink, with full-page hand-painted miniatures depicting the Transfiguration of Jesus, Saint Tekle Haymanot of Ethiopia, Saint George slaying the dragon, the Madonna and child, Jesus and Mary, the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus, and the Journey to Bethlehem. Housed in the original leather chemise slipcase with leather carrying handle.

Ethiopian Handwritten Coptic Ge’ez Bibles were produced as early as the fourteenth century until the late 19th century throughout Ethiopia, the first country to become an independent African nation. Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the 4th century when Syrian missionaries first translated the Bible into Ge’ez, the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The surviving body of Ge’ez literature in composed almost entirely of Christian liturgy, as education was exclusively the responsibility of priests and monks. The bibles produced typically contain the gospels of the New Testament, recounting the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the foundation of the Christian faith with illuminated miniature paintings depicting the lives of the Saints.