Collection Ethiopian icons

Collection of Ethiopian icons

The past academic year, Ayla Kivits, master's student in art history, has conducted research into the collection of Ethiopian icons from the depot of the Nijmeegs Volkenkundig Museum. When this museum closed in 2004, the objects were transferred to IVOC. They were originally collected in the 1960s and 1970s by A.M. Heidt.

The collection contains almost five hundred colorful paintings on parchment, which depict Ethiopian religion and everyday life. Ayla has researched the provenance of the collection, the tradition of Ethiopian folk art and two masterpieces: the icon of King David and the icon depicting the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon.

Due to the limited time of the internship, a large part of the collection has not yet been identified. We would therefore like to ask you for help. Do you know anything about the icons on this website? About the origin, the depiction or the use of the icons? Please contact us!