ETHIOPIAN MANUSCRIPT IN GE'EZ ON VELLUM

ETHIOPIC BIBLE

Ethiopic bible-manuscript in ge'ez on vellum.

(Ethiopia, presumably around 1780)

4to (205 x 150 mm). In a traditional contemporary Ethopian binding; wooden boards and no spine. Quires are with coptic stitches. Text in red and black in two colums with 21 lines on vellum. A few holes to front board. Margins misoloured and water stain affecting some leaves. A few leaves with holes, presumably from the preparation of the hide, so not affecting text. Hinges and quires a bit loose (as usual with this binding-technique) but still firmly attached. 69 ff - With decorative header to first and last leaf. 

Ethiopian manuscript on vellum, here preserved in its first binding. It is written in Ge'ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian church shaping Ethiopian civilization for centuries. One of the most significant distinct fields of Ethiopian culture is its literature, mainly religious texts in ancient Greek and Hebrew, translated into ancient Ge'ez.
Ethiopia has a very characteristic and unique style of binding which has essentially remained unchanged since the 12th century. (see Cockerell, Ethiopian Bindings, 1977)

Order-nr.: 60574