ETHIOPIAN MANUSCRIPT IN GE'EZ ON VELLUM

PSALTER -

Ethiopic psalter-manuscript in ge'ez on vellum.

(Ethiopia, presumably early 19th century).

8vo (225 x 145 mm). In a traditional contemporary Ethopian binding; wooden boards and no spine. Quires are with coptic stitches. Text in one colum in clear legible ge'ez in black and red ink on vellum. With 11 decorative headers. Leaves with miscololuring in margin. A few leaves with loss of vellum in margin, with some loss of lettering. Hinges and quires a bit loose (as usual with this binding-technique) but still firmly attached. Verso of boards with vague pencil drawings. 125 ff. 

Ethiopian manuscript on vellum, here preserved in its first binding. It is written in Ge'ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian church shaping Ethiopian civilization for centuries. One of the most significant distinct fields of Ethiopian culture is its literature, mainly religious texts in ancient Greek and Hebrew, translated into ancient Ge'ez.
Ethiopia has a very characteristic and unique style of binding which has essentially remained unchanged since the 12th century. (see Cockerell, Ethiopian Bindings, 1977)

Order-nr.: 63240