tour 7 of 7
The Queen of Sheba
Tsehai, The Sheba-Solomon narrative, oil on canvas
The story of the Queen of Sheba is extremely
important to the national and religious identity of Ethiopia,
particularly in the northern Christian highlands. The basic
elements of the best-known Ethiopian version were transcribed in
the Käbra Nägast
('Glory of the Kings'), attributed to Yeshaq of
Aksum (early fourteenth century), which was created to provide
legitimacy to the recently established Solomonic dynasty, led by
Yekunno Amlak (reigned
1270-85).
According to the
Käbra Nägast, the Queen
of Sheba, known as Makeda, once ruled over Ethiopia's
northern highlands. After visiting King Solomon in Jerusalem, she
gave birth to their son Menelik in her capital city Aksum. Menelik
inherited her kingdom after a visit to his father, from which he
returned with the Ark of the Covenant. Over centuries, the
narrative has been modified and numerous oral and written versions
have been created.
In the
last century painted representations of the narrative have appeared
and the story has become one of the most common themes in Ethiopian
popular painting. Emperors Menelik II and Haile Sellassie I
(1892-1975) placed significant emphasis on the
Käbra Nägast, claiming
direct descent from King Solomon, which was enshrined in Article 2
of the revised (1955) Ethiopian
constitution.
The painting
has twenty-one painted images in three rows of seven scenes each,
with Amharic captions in black ink. Click here for a description: |
Row 1
| Row
2 |
Row 3
|