GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Hand-held crosses have been in use in Ethiopia for centuries, and are an integral part of the practice of Ethiopian Christianity. The crosses are made of cast metal or hand-carved wood and most often consist of a cross of equal-length arms, a short handle, and a square base. Some scholars have suggested the square base represents the tabot, the consecrated slab identified with the Ark of the Covenant, and the tablets of law it contained. Hand-held crosses belong to individual priests, who use them to perform benedictions, in which the crosses avert evil and invoke divine blessings. These blessings occur not only within the context of worship, but also in priests' day-to-day interactions with lay people.
Drawn from
- Jacopo Gnisci, "Crosses from Ethiopia at the Dallas Museum of Art: An Overview," African Arts 51, no. 4 (Winter 2018): 48–55.
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 264-266
- C. Griffith Mann, "The Role of the Cross in Ethiopian Culture," in Ethiopian Art: the Walters Art Museum, ed. Deborah E. Horowitz (Surrey, UK: Third Millennium Publishing, 2001), 75.
- Csilla Fabo Perczel, DMA Unpublished material, 1992.
NOTES
Object file reviewed, "skeleton" note for Ethiopian hand-held crosses.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Abyssinian (African styles and periods by national designation): AAT: 300312134
Ethiopian Orthodox (Oriental Orthodox): TAA: 300262472
Geography
Ethiopia (nation): TGN 7000489
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
apotropaic: DMA
Christianity: AAT: 300073711
crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010044
crosses (visual works): AAT: 300235443
religious objects: AAT: 300234098
priests: AAT: 300025774
Greek crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010071
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By at least 1966: Dr. Kenneth Redden (d. 1998), Charlottesville, Virginia [1]
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Dr. Hebe Redden and Dr. Kenneth Redden
The main source for this provenance is Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 266. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Jacopo Gnisci, "Crosses from Ethiopia at the Dallas Museum of Art: An Overview," DMA Unpublished material, 1. (Copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Gnisci's research shows that Dr. Kenneth Redden and Dr. Hebe Redden were listed as lenders of three Ethiopian crosses for a 1966 exhibition organized by the Musée Dynamique in Dakar and the Grand Palais in Paris.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Walters Art Museum~Read more about Ethiopian hand-held crosses.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1991.352.59
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General Description
Hand-held crosses have been in use in Ethiopia for centuries, and are an integral part of the practice of Ethiopian Christianity. The crosses are made of cast metal or hand-carved wood and most often consist of a cross of equal-length arms, a short handle, and a square base. Some scholars have suggested the square base represents the tabot, the consecrated slab identified with the Ark of the Covenant, and the tablets of law it contained. Hand-held crosses belong to individual priests, who use them to perform benedictions, in which the crosses avert evil and invoke divine blessings. These blessings occur not only within the context of worship, but also in priests' day-to-day interactions with lay people.
Drawn from
- Jacopo Gnisci, "Crosses from Ethiopia at the Dallas Museum of Art: An Overview," African Arts 51, no. 4 (Winter 2018): 48–55.
- Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 264-266
- C. Griffith Mann, "The Role of the Cross in Ethiopian Culture," in Ethiopian Art: the Walters Art Museum, ed. Deborah E. Horowitz (Surrey, UK: Third Millennium Publishing, 2001), 75.
- Csilla Fabo Perczel, DMA Unpublished material, 1992.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Object file reviewed, "skeleton" note for Ethiopian hand-held crosses.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Abyssinian (African styles and periods by national designation): AAT: 300312134
Ethiopian Orthodox (Oriental Orthodox): TAA: 300262472
Geography
Ethiopia (nation): TGN 7000489
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
apotropaic: DMA
Christianity: AAT: 300073711
crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010044
crosses (visual works): AAT: 300235443
religious objects: AAT: 300234098
priests: AAT: 300025774
Greek crosses (motifs): AAT: 300010071
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By at least 1966: Dr. Kenneth Redden (d. 1998), Charlottesville, Virginia [1]
From 1991: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Dr. Hebe Redden and Dr. Kenneth Redden
The main source for this provenance is Roslyn A. Walker, The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 266. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Jacopo Gnisci, "Crosses from Ethiopia at the Dallas Museum of Art: An Overview," DMA Unpublished material, 1. (Copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Gnisci's research shows that Dr. Kenneth Redden and Dr. Hebe Redden were listed as lenders of three Ethiopian crosses for a 1966 exhibition organized by the Musée Dynamique in Dakar and the Grand Palais in Paris.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
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Objects
number
Equals
1991.352.59
source file
object_notes_1_a-0470.xml.nores