Icon

The Ethiopian Orthodox practice of wearing small icons suspended from the neck in cloth or leather bags seems to date to the second half of the 15th century. They were believed to protect against evil. Later, a pierced suspension cylinder, as on this icon, would make these personal icons a true pendant form. Double-sided pendants would become more common in the 17th and 18th centuries. While usually concealed by their protective wrappings, the pendant exteriors would be elaborately carved like this example or more simply painted. The subject matter and style of the images relates to the larger panel icons. Typically Mary is shown in a blue shawl, holding a barefoot Christ child. The inclusion of the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and the juxtaposition of Mary and St. George are traditional Ethiopian additions to the iconography. In this example, the artist has barely alluded to the angel’s wings, perhaps due partly to space constraints. The equestrian figure is one of a series of young warrior saints in Ethiopian art that are generally identified by the color of the horse. A white horse usually signifies St. George. Here the spear has a cross form finial and the dragon is shown in more serpentine form. Specialist scholars often use the presence or absence of legs on the dragon, gender on the horse and stirrups on the saddle as dating factors, although the archaizing practices of artist monks make these details unreliable. The hand gesture of the Christ child making a benediction is combined with his gaze on her face, conveying a more tender variation on the standard pose.