198 - [ETHIOPIAN MANUSCRIPT]. Book of prayers and liturgical texts.

[ETHIOPIAN MANUSCRIPT]. Book of prayers and liturgical texts. Liturgical manuscript illuminated with 10 polychrome figures, in a well-preserved full binding. Ethiopia, 19th century. Square in-12 format (154 x 130 mm), red goatskin full leather on wooden boards, plain, unmarked spine, cold-stamped decoration on the covers depicting an Abyssinian cross, Manuscript of 30 leaves on parchment, written in black and red ink; 10 painted illustrations, including 4 double-page spreads, one inset illustration (Archangel Saint Michael), and one within the text (anthropomorphic cross); one painted headband. Text written in Ge'ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Church. Hand-cut leaves; some original imperfections in the parchment, including two natural holes in the skin. Manuscript illustrated with 10 paintings in a naive and colorful style typical of Abyssinian Christian art, executed in tempera using natural pigments. It contains 4 diptychs: - Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon before the eyes of Princess Birutawit, facing a crowned Ethiopian sovereign on his throne, flanked by the Lion of Judah at his feet and soldiers brandishing swords - God the Father giving his blessing, flanked by two seraphim heads, facing the scene of the Crucifixion of Christ, surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Saint John, the Sun, and the Moon - A crowned patriarch or sovereign holding a crosier and protected by two guardian angels, facing Christ in Majesty seated on a raised throne and holding a cross of blessing - The hermit Saint Zosimus, kneeling in profile with his hands raised in prayer, facing Saint Mary of Egypt, who holds a devotional cross and is flanked at her feet by the lioness that dug her grave. The insert illustration depicts the Archangel Saint Michael in ceremonial attire, brandishing his sword. The illustration within the text shows an anthropomorphic cross set within a border of geometric interlacing. In good condition.