Catalogue 217: CHF 20. - Harteveld Rare Books Ltd.

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1750), 12x18 cm, 4 leaves (writing exercises, doodles)
+ 167 leaves, all on vellum, Ge’ez manuscript in black
ink, with rubrics and titles in red, 1 column (2 columns
on the last 16 leaves), sheet size 18 : 11 cm, black and
red decorative pattern on title page, doodles in pencil on
the margins of some pages, slightly worn; full leather
binding on wooden plates, with blind tooled decorations
on covers, leather torn on spine, spine somewhat loose,
in leather bag with lid, used. HRB 87933 2000.-
Original manuscript of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
containing the Psalms of David
written in the old liturgical language
Ge’ez. Paleographically
dated to the second half of the
18th c. (based on the so called
Räqiq script). The major part is written in 1 column and consists
of the Paslms 1 - 150 and the apocryph Psalm 151, the
Cantica, the Song of Songs, followed by the Weddase Maryam
(=praise of Maria, meaning the daily prayers for every day
of the week). the first 4 leaves contain clumsy drawings and
symbols, perhaps indicating that the owner used it for healing
practices or to ward off evil. The original leather bookbag for
protection and transportation is made of rougher leather than
the bindings and made to fit exactly this codex (based on the
analysis by Dr. V. Six, Hamburg).
670. Mäshafä Genzät. - Book of Funerals. Richly illuminated
Ethiopic manuscript from 19th century on
vellum. Contemp. redbrown blind-tooled leather over
strong wooden boards. - Partly fingerstained, first
quires loosened. Spine with tear. s.d. (19th c.), 30 x 25
cm, 130 vellum leaves, Ge’ez manuscript in black ink
by several hands (as usual for this kind of manuscript)
with rubrics and titles in red. Sheet size 29,5 : 23,5 cm.
22 lines, 2 columns. With 3 sequences of illustrations,
added in the beginning of 20th century, altogether 28
(1 full-page) miniatures in colours, the original holes
in the vellum meticulously stitched up, Contemp. redbrown
blind-tooled leather over strong wooden boards,
first quires loosened. Spine with tear. Fine conditions.
HRB 86975 38000.-
Beautifully illustrated codex describing the rituals for the
Christian Ethiopian funeral. Different names appear in the formulas
as there are completely different rituals depending on
the social class. Remarquable is the indiscriminate use of female
and male names in the formulas, for ex. the expression
„..for your (male) servant Wälättä Maryam“ (the person’s name
translates as ‘daughter of Maria’). Concerning the date: these
codices typically bear no dates, the estimated 19th c. is supported
by the expression “for our King N.N.” indicating the
Harteveld Rare Books Ltd., CH-1700 Fribourg 115
unclear political situation in the 19th c. Further evidence is the
mention of the metropolite Abuna Sälama, who came to Ethiopia
in 1867 AD, though the author of a homily in the Mäshafä
Genzät bears the same name. The miniatures have been added
later (beginning of the 20th c.?) and cite in a simplified manner
the so called style of Gondar (18th c.). The depicted scenes
are not related to the text, in fact the illustrations in the middle
part of the codex replace text that has been scraped off the
pages (palimpsest) to make room for the miniatures. To replace
text by illustrations is not unusual, especially for the 20th c.,
when more and more europeans, who normally were unable to
read the text, started to be interested in these manuscripts. So
the illustrations are meant as a decoration of the codex. There
are no titles or descriptions on these illustrations but most are
recognizable:
1st group of scenes: Saint-Georges (riding a white horse, with
tree referring to the rescue of the girl from Beirut [called Birutawit
in Ethiopian]); Mary and Child with 2 angels. Mary’s
blue cape shows the so called St. Luke’s icon (the most popular
representation of St Mary); Jesus on the cross with Mary on the
right and John on the left side of the cross; Resurrection of the
dead (Anastasis): Jesus Christ gracing the sinners: the 2 heads
at the bottom are still shown in profile, marking them as bad
persons; the next picture is not clear, probably a scene from
the New Testament, the iconographic rules are respected (bad
people in profile, good in frontal or half view); Scenes from
the Passion. / 2nd group (middle of the codex): Mary between
Peter and Paul (?); Resurrection; Archangel; Gäbrä Mänfäs
Qeddus with a bird: Ethiopian Saint recognisable by his hide
clothing, the leopard and lion; Saint on white horse: St Victor
(Ethiopian: Fiqtor) or St Fasilädäs (?), wo kills a snake; 2
monks (?); Mary; Archangel. / 3rd group (end of codex): Mary
with Child, the ladder might be an allusion to Genesis 28, 12.
Above God and the Holy Spirit, on the left: God with globe,
in the corners: Symbols of the 4 Evangelists and Angels; Jesus
Christ drives away a satan; Annunciation; Täklä Haymanot:
Ethiopian saint, as usual shown with one leg severed from asceticism,
instead he got wings; Archangel; Crowned Mary: St
Mary with the crown of the church; the following miniatures
cannot be clearly classified, again the rule of profile = bad applies,
possibly miracles of the life of Mary or martyrs legends
(based on and translated from the expertise of Dr. Veronika Six,
Hamburg).
671. Ta‘ämrä Maryam. - Wunder Marias. Ge’ez Handschrift
auf Pergament mit Miniaturen. Äthiopien, erste
Hälfte des 18. Jhs., 210 Bll., Blattgr. ca. 27 : 23 cm,
Schriftspiegel ca. 21 : 19 cm, 28 Zeilen, 3 Spalten. Geschrieben
in schwarzer Tinte, Hervorhebungen in Rot. Mit
62 ganzseit. farb. Miniaturen. Zeitgenöss. Holzdeckelband
(Deckelstärke 1 cm) mit blindgepr. rotbraunen Lederbezug:
mehrfacher Rahmenaufbau aus Streicheisenlinien
und Rollbordüren, Mittelfeld jew. mit Kreuz-Darstellung.
HRB 91226 22500.-
Prachtvoll illuminierte
äthiopische Handschrift
mit Erzählungen
über das wundertätige
Eingreifen der Jungfrau
Maria. Zu Beginn der
einleitende Ritus zur
Lesung, der sog. Kanon
von al-Mu’allaqa, der
über die Lesung der
Wunder der Jungfrau
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