Pendant Icon: St. George, Virgin and Child Enthroned 18th century Ethiopian This pendant’s intimate scale and protective external panel allowed it to be used as a portable personal icon. The single-faced diptych’s carved wooden case could be opened to reveal paintings of the Virgin Mary and St. George, two of the most popular figures in Ethiopian Orthodoxy Christianity. The hollow inverted v-shaped cylinder at the top enabled it to be suspended from the owner's neck. An interlaced square cross is carved below the loop on each side. Two small c-shaped hooks are mounted on hinges on the right si

Pendant Icon: St. George, Virgin and Child Enthroned 18th century Ethiopian This pendant’s intimate scale and protective external panel allowed it to be used as a portable personal icon. The single-faced diptych’s carved wooden case could be opened to reveal paintings of the Virgin Mary and St. George, two of the most popular figures in Ethiopian Orthodoxy Christianity. The hollow inverted v-shaped cylinder at the top enabled it to be suspended from the owner's neck. An interlaced square cross is carved below the loop on each side. Two small c-shaped hooks are mounted on hinges on the right side of the front of the case. They likely fit into a now-missing latch, which would have been attached to two holes pierced through the reverse of the case. Both the front and back of the case are ornamented with shallow carved designs alternating with plain bands. The front of the case has four plain bands, and three patterned with interlace, hatching, and zigzags. A flared pattée cross is at its center. On the reverse of the case are three plain bands interspersed with two bands carved with interlace and hatching. They frame an inner cross composed of a diagonal three-band interlace enclosing a circle. The wood on the front and sides of the case have a slight sheen, and is darker than that of the back. On the principle side, the main panel features Mary and the Christ Child flanked by two archangels. She carries the Christ child on her right side, and holds a mappula (handkerchief) in her left hand. Her sweeping blue robe, edged with yellow and green, covers her hair. A small yellow halo surrounds each figure’s head. This form of the Virgin and Child was modeled after the Virgin of Santa Maria Maggiore, first introduced into Ethiopia in print form by the Jesuits around 1600. Rather than slavishly copying the European model, the Ethiopian artists adapted it to their own aesthetic preferences, as evident by the short, cropped black hair of Christ and the archangels. Inste

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