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“THE HANDWRITING IS EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL”
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(AFRICA.) ETHIOPIA.
Collection of Bible Stories in Ge’ez, with “Hymns
to Mary.”
348 pages written on 174 vellum leaves (18 x16 cm), the first dozen of which
show some early water-staining at the bottom right corners, the remainder, in reasonably
good condition. bearing the original wooden covers, and leather spine; the rear cover of
which has cracked and been sewn together, the old wood covers with a rich patina. In the
original leather carrying case with shoulder-strap.
SHOULD BE SEEN
.
Ethiopia, circa 1830-1850’s
[800/1,200]
Sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1964.With three letters from the appraiser at the Gallery
and one sheet of paper with the following: “Number 3.This book contains the Psalms and
extracts from some portion of other sections of the OldTestament and a section called ‘Hymns
to Mary.’ The first two folios contain an invocation by the scribe.The Psalms are divided into
groups; each group containing about 30 individual Psalms.At the end of each group there is
a red and black dotted line.The handwriting is extremely beautiful.”
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(AFRICA—ISLAM.)
Madrasa
Student’s Koranic learning tablet.
Wood, 20-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches, writing in
ink on both sides, some partially wiped off
leaving a patina of white kaolin on the
surface of the board.
Sub-Saharan Africa,
1930s-1950s
[400/600]
Students of the Koran in Sub-Saharan Africa
would write their lessons on boards like this, to
learn to write.They would then memorize the
lines from a chapter of the Koran by chanting
them aloud with their fellow students. After
lessons were learned, the lines would be
rubbed off with an abrasive substance, which
accounts for the smooth patina. Boards like
this are common anywhere from Guinea
Bissau to Senegal, Chad and Ghana,
virtually anywhere Islam is practiced in Sub-
Saharan Africa.
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