10368
Enquiry about object: 10368
Ethiopian Carved Wooden Goblet of St George & Birutawit
Ethiopia 19th century
height: 11.3cm, diameter: approximately 7.2cm, weight: 116g
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Provenance
private collection, England
This unusual goblet is carved on opposite sides with images of an equestrian St George, the national patron saint of Ethiopia, slaying the serpent. An image of Birutawit the Maiden (the name Birutawit suggests she was born in Beirut) also is carved on the goblet, and opposite, a tree – presumably the tree on which by tradition Birutawit was perched to avoid the serpent. St George kills the serpent, thus allowing Birutawit her freedom. (Birutawit is a figure rarely if ever depicted in Western versions of this story but often appears in Ethiopian renderings of the legend.)
The scene is captured in an 18th century Ethiopian pendant icon now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The goblet has been carved from a single piece of wood. It has been carved from hand, and not turned on a lathe. The wood appears to be olive wood – olive trees are native to Ethiopia. The eyes of both images of St George have been coloured with black.
The goblet sits on a flared, domed foot. The stem has been carved with two decorative disks – a pleasing, sculptural addition.
St George has been carved with a halo, and a cape (kabba) over his shoulders in the manner of an Ethiopian nobleman. His feet appear not to be fully in the stirrups but perhaps the bigger toes are, in the manner of a traditional Ethiopian stirrup.
The lance or spear used by St George is topped with a cross and is the type of spear typically shown being held by the Lion of Juddah, an ancient Ethiopian symbol used to symbolise Ethiopia’s emperors.
Recoiling beneath the feet of the steed, the serpent has a curling tail and a single eye, a hallmark in Ethiopian Orthodox painting of evil figures, whereas saints and ‘good’ figures are not shown in profile but facing the viewer.
Wood carvers operated throughout Ethiopia, producing furniture, handheld processional crosses, shrine boxes, headrests and eating utensils. Religious items were made in the Christian parts of the country.
The underside of the goblet is engraved with what appears to be three Ethiopic syllables.
The goblet has a splendid patina and smoothness from handling. It is in excellent condition.
References
Biasio, E., Majesty and Magnificence at the Court of Menelik: Alfred Ilg’s Ethiopia around 1900, Verlag Nueue Zurcher Zeitung, 2004.
Fabo Perczel, C., Ethiopia: Folk Art of a Hidden Empire, Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art, 1983.
Mercier, J., Art of Ethiopia: From the Origins to the Golden Century, Editions Place des Victoires, 2021.
Pankhurst, R. & L. Ingrams, Ethiopia Engraved: An Illustrated Catalogue of Engravings by Foreign Travellers from 1681 to 1900, Kegan Paul International, 1988.
Sciacca, C., Ethiopia at the Crossroads, The Waters Art Museum, 2023.
