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Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project

Scribe with Golden Ink

Image displayed with permission of Museum of the Bible

Scribe with Golden Ink

  • This painting (also called an illumination) appears in a manuscript dated to 1650-1749. You can view this painting in the manuscript Museum of the Bible, [Ethiopic Collection], Manuscript No. 333, f. 56v, s. 57a, or learn more about this manuscript at its PEMM Manuscript page. You can also read the related story at its PEMM Story page.
  • Many Geʿez manuscript paintings are in "Synoptic Narrative Art” style; that is, a single painting depicts multiple moments in the story, providing a series of vignettes representing different plot points. PEMM calls these "episodes". This painting of PEMM Story ID 162 has 3 episodes. The painting's episode descriptions, locations, and keywords are:
  • 1. Dǝmyānos writing the name of St Mary in a manuscript (left). The object(s) are ink; ink well; ink horn; pen; reed; book; folio; stool. The living being(s) are scribe.
  • 2. Dǝmyānos lying down before the icon of Mary, which performs a gesture of blessing (right). The object(s) are church; pillow; bed; blanket. The living being(s) are Mary.
  • 3. In the background, the pillar of gold, on which Mary inscribed Dǝmyānos' name is depicted (center). The object(s) are column.
  • This painting has a caption in Geʿez, which Jeremy Brown has translated as: How Dəmyanos wrote the Miracles of Mary with gold and silver ink.
  • The number of PEMM manuscripts that have paintings of this story is 35. The total number of paintings of this story in PEMM manuscripts is 47.
  • PEMM's ID number for this painting is 2140.
  • To reproduce this image online or in print, please contact the Museum of the Bible. PEMM does not own the rights.
  • If you think any of the information on this page is incorrect (e.g., the location, date, description, captions), please use our PEMM Feedback Form to let us know. We depend on users like you to improve the site.
pricenton ethiopian eritrean & egyptian miracles of marry project

The Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project is a comprehensive resource for the 1,000+ miracle stories written about and the 2,500+ images painted of the Virgin Mary in these African countries, and preserved in Geʿez between 1300 and the present.

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