Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU>
The Walters Gallery in Baltimore has a nice collection and display of
Ethiopian bibles that look very much like this (which I highly
recommend). It might be worth contacting them to see if they have an
expert on staff:
http://www.thewalters.org/works_of_art/manuscripts_illuminated_antiquity
.aspx.
Take a look at this nice item, ca. 1540:
http://www.thewalters.org/works_of_art/itemdetails.aspx?aid=2933
Thanks, Michael
Michael J. North, northm@mail.nlm.nih.gov
Head of Rare Books & Early Manuscripts
History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
(301) 496-9204 * fax (301) 402-0872
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
-----Original Message-----
From: Laderman [mailto:zita@SPEAKEASY.NET]
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 5:19 PM
To: EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS-L] Query regarding two Ethiopian volumes
In my opinion any manuscript Ethiopian books which does not have a
provenance with a date of entry into a library of some age are all new
or very recent. The style has not changed much [if at all]. To the eye
unfamiliar with this kind of thing, they all look ancient.
They look at least as old as some of the early Tuscan crosses [12th and
thirteenth century]. But that is how they are made, now.
best,
Gabriel
Zita
At 02:12 PM 1/28/2008, you wrote:
>Greetings,
>
>I was helping out in a library's special collections and came across
>two Ethiopian volumes about which the library has very little
>information. I would be curious to hear what further information about
>these volumes I could glean from the collective wisdom of Exlibris.
>
>Pictures of the volumes are posted on my flickr account
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksdriedger/sets/72157603787496058/
>
>Some more comments about the volumes, as well as one expert's insights
>are posted on my blog
>http://librarypreservation.blogspot.com/2008/01/ethiopian-books-n-such_
>24.html
>
>
>I'm particularly interested in hearing if people have any estimates of
>age, and seeing that there are many dealers on the list, value.
>
>thanks for any assistance,
>
>Kevin
>
>**********************************************
>Kevin Driedger
>Cataloger/Collections Conservator
>Library of Michigan
>702 W. Kalamazoo
>P.O. Box 30007
>Lansing, MI 48909
>517-373-9440