An Analysis of 17th-century Ethiopian Pigments

Anaïs Wion (1)

1 CEMAf - Centre d'Etudes des Mondes Africains

Pigments from two master-pieces of Ethiopian art of the 17th c. are analyzed by Raman micro-spectography technic. One is an illuminated manuscript of the Miracles of Mary (BnF Eth Abb 114), the other the mural painting of Abba Antonios church (Gondar), today kept in Paris. Both were commissioned in the royal and aristocratic milieus. This study shows that the pigments used to create them were those favoured amongst aristocratic society of the 17th century, and that most of them were part of the international luxury goods trade of this time.

Mots clés: Ethiopia; Inks; Ethiopian art

Domaines: Art et histoire de l'art; Histoire

Anaïs Wion. An Analysis of 17th-century Ethiopian Pigments. M.J. Ramos; I. Boavida. The Indigenous and The Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art. On Portuguese-Ethiopian Contacts in the 16th-17th centuries, Ashgate, 2004, The Indigenous and The Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art. On Portuguese-Ethiopian Contacts in the 16th-17th centuries, 9780754650379. ⟨halshs-01247283⟩