[Gospel of St. John].
A copy of the Gospel of St. John together with four pages of a second John manuscript bound at the beginning [John 18:8-20 and John 17:23-18:1, bound in reverse order] (in differing hand); at end are a set of praises to the Virgin Mary, the Holy Angels and the Apostles.
| Uniform Title: | Bible. |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | Ethiopic |
| Language Notes: | In Ge'ez. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | A copy of the Gospel of St. John together with four pages of a second John manuscript bound at the beginning [John 18:8-20 and John 17:23-18:1, bound in reverse order] (in differing hand); at end are a set of praises to the Virgin Mary, the Holy Angels and the Apostles. |
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| Item Description: | Red and black ink. Title devised by cataloger. Paper is vellum and includes "prickings" along the edges used by scribes to line up the pages. Wooden board covers. Hand sewn silk textile covering with strap; the pattern features repeating floral motifs in gold and red. A small framed mirror is set inside the front cover cut with a flap in the silk binding for access; empty space for a potential mirror inside back cover. 2 full page hand-painted naive illustrations at end: the Crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary and St. John standing by the side of the cross [John 19:26, 27], dedicated to Heyawat; Saint Gabra Manfas Qedus with 3 lions and 3 tigers, plus a flying black bird. Commissioned by "Gebire ḥiyiwet" [Gabra Heyawat]--3rd to last page. Book is dedicated to him on title page of main text. This baptismal name links him to image of Saint Gabra, both follow the "Gabra" (Servant of...) prefix. Possibly Gabrahiwot Baykadagn, an Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual who served under Emperor Menelik II and Haile Selassie, regarded as a pioneer of development economics in Africa. The Cushing Library/Laughlin copy came from the Curtis Collection (Charles H. Ludington was a prominent Philadelphia figure who served as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Curtis Publishing Company). For further details of provenance see the Laughlin collection files. |
| Physical Description: | 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 18 cm + 1 original leather carrying case with handle. |