Triptych Icon

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Arts of Africa

Late 17th century

Central Ethiopia
Eastern and Southern Africa

Although Orthodox Christianity has been practiced in the highlands of Ethiopia since the 4th century, this elaborate triptych is rendered in the courtly First Gonderine style, which flourished during the reign of King Iyyasu I (1682–1706) and incorporated bold, richly decorated forms and figures. With its central panel featuring the Virgin Mary and child Jesus flanked by archangels Gabriel and Michael, this icon reflects the popularity of Marian worship within the Ethiopian liturgy.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Title: Triptych Icon
Place: Ethiopia (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1682–1706
Medium: Tempera on linen, mounted on wood and bound with cord
Dimensions: 67 × 74 cm (26 3/8 × 29 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Director's Fund
Reference Number: 2006.11
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/185651/manifest.json

Jacques Mercier. 2000. L’Arche Ethiopienne: Art Chrétien d’Ethiope, exh. cat. Paris: Paris musée, Pavillion des Arts, pg. 145.
Sam Fogg. 2005. Art of Ethiopia. Paul Holberton Publishing, London, cat. 27, pp. 62-63.
Apollo Dec. 2006, Review of the Year, Museum Acquisitions, p. 40 (ill).
Kathleen Bickford Berzock, “Triptych Icon with Central Image of the Virgin and Child,” The Silk Road and Beyond: Travel Trade, and Transformation, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 33, 1 (2007), pp .76-78; 95.
Kathleen Bickford Berzock, “Triptych Icon with Central Image of the Virgin and Child,” The Essential Guide, Art Institute of Chicago (2009), pg. 10.
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 75, pp. 186-187 (ill.).

Paris, Pavillon des Arts in association with Tigray Cultural Association, Ethiopia, L’Arche Ethiopienne: Art Chrétien d’Ethiope, Sept. 27, 2000–Jan. 7, 2001; traveled to Girona, Spain, Caixa Foundation, Jan. 23–Mar. 31, 2001, pg. 145.
New York, N.Y., Pace Wildenstein Gallery, Art of Ethiopia, Oct. 18–29, 2005, cat. 27.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Silk Road and Beyond: Travel, Trade, and Transformation, Sept. 30, 2006–Apr. 22, 2007, pp. 76-78 (ill).
New York, The Metropolian Museum of Art, Africa & Byzantium, Nov. 13, 2023-March 3, 2024, cat. 158; Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, April 14-July 21, 2024.

Mr. Vesecchi, Milan, Italy [this and the following according to A. Mitrano communicated by Sam Fogg Oct. 24, 2005, documented in curatorial file; and S. Fogg 2005 and 2014]; Mr. Vesecchi and Mrs. Mitrano (died 1997), Milan, Italy; by descent to her son, Andrea Mitrano, Varese, Italy, from 1997 [owner recorded on export documentation Feb. 2005, copy in curatorial file]; sold to Sam Fogg, London, 2005 [copy of export documentation signed by A. Mitrano dated Feb. 2005 in curatorial file; Fogg, 2005, pp. 62-63 ]; sold to the Art Institute, 2006.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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