The Miracles of Mary (Tä’amrä Maryam)

This diptych is representative of the first Gondar school, an Ethiopian painting style which began in the first half of the 17th century. Its central scene shows the Virgin and Child holding the Gospel in manner that reflects the influence of the venerated Byzantine icon housed in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. However, the two figures on either side of the Virgin follow a Coptic model. The appropriation of Catholic iconography was also manifested in the design of churches, the illumination of religious manuscripts and in the production of portable icons.