The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the life of Bishop Selama,
painting by an unknown artist
Around AD 1855
From Tigray, Ethiopia
Ethiopia has a very long and rich tradition of
painting. As early as AD 620 two wives of The Prophet Mohammed
described the beauty of the murals of St Mary Zion Church at Aksum.
Most painters were priests and monks who learnt the art of painting
under the guidance of an experienced church artist. Their work was
commissioned by wealthy Ethiopians and illustrated and explained
stories from the Bible and of the lives of saints. Church art was
intended to be both informative and to inspire devotion.
This painting was made for the church of the
Saviour of the World at Adwa in northern Ethiopia. As with most
Ethiopian church paintings we do not know the name of the
artist.
The main purpose of this painting was to
inspire devotion through the depiction of Christ's crucifixion. It
shows several episodes from the crucifixion story as if taking
place at the same time. Christ’s followers are shown at the foot of
the cross with tears running down their faces. The Virgin Mary is
supported by St John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene embraces
Christ’s feet.
Near the base of the cross is the skull of
Adam – according to the Bible, the first man on earth. The
crucifixion took place at Golgotha, the exact place where Adam was
believed to be buried. Christ’s blood pours into the skull,
indicating that the blood of Christ will bring salvation to
everyone.
Around the edge of the painting there are 11
smaller scenes which celebrate the life of Bishop Selama, Head of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church from 1841 to 1867. The painting also
depicts the coronation of Emperor Tewodros II in 1855.
Dejazmatch Wube and Biru Goshu, key political figures in the
mid nineteenth-century Ethiopian politics of church and state are
also shown.
Church paintings at this time were an
important means of communication and observers would have been able
to identify the recent events shown.
The painting was donated to the British Museum
by the archaeologist James Theodore Bent in 1893 and is part of a
comprehensive collection of Ethiopian material he put together
while travelling in Ethiopia.
British Museum conservators have recently
relined the painting and mounted it on a flat board.
This helps preserve it, while a full analysis of the
painting carried out by Museum scientists has allowed a
greater understanding of the construction of the painting.