Meskel Scene

Artist

Etsubdink Legesse (Ethiopian, b. 1968)

Date

2012

Medium

Ink and pigment on parchment

Dimensions

Sheet : 7 7/8 x 10 7/8 in. (20 x 27.62 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Neal and Elizabeth Sobania

Object Number

2018.25.47

Label

Meskel is the first major holiday of the Ethiopian religious calendar. Celebrated in late September, it commemorates the finding of the True Cross by Queen Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Large bonfires are burned as part of the Meskel ceremony, which usually also coincides with the end of Ethiopia’s rainy season.