Queen of Sheba
Ethiopia
A painting organised along a dominant horizontal field, the central seated figure of the Queen of Sheba positioned within a compressed frontal composition flanked by two retainer groups and anchored below by a reclining lion. Saturated ceremonial colours and linear contouring define the surface structure across the full field.
Description
The Queen of Sheba is depicted seated and elevated at the centre of the composition, draped in layered ceremonial garments and crowned with an elaborate headdress. One hand is raised toward the chin, while the other extends across the layered textiles before her. A ceremonial parasol rises behind the central figure, establishing the royal register. A bare-chested attendant marked with scarification stands beside the throne, one arm raised to the Queen’s headdress. Two camel heads are depicted in the upper-left corner of the composition, distinct from the principal figures. Spear- and shield-bearing retainers are arranged to the left of the composition, while sword- and shield-bearing retainers occupy the right, with spears raised behind them; a white-robed attendant stands beside the Queen. The lion reclines horizontally across the foreground. An Amharic inscription in the upper register identifies the scene as the Queen of Sheba giving instructions to her soldiers. The lower inscription records the artist’s signature, Gebrekirstos Solomon, and the date 1974.
Executed on prepared goatskin leather, the support preserves continuous graphic articulation throughout the composition. The palette is organised through deep reds, ochre, warm gold, indigo, dark green, and white, with strong contrast between ceremonial textiles and richly coloured robes. The painting is executed in a technique associated with the Ethiopian ecclesiastical painting lineage.
Context
Works of this type belong to the secular tradition of Ethiopian court and narrative painting, depicting episodes of royal authority, diplomacy, and historical memory. Painting on goatskin leather constitutes a distinctive material and pictorial tradition.
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ethiopia, 1982.
Details
- Title
- Queen of Sheba
- Artist
- Gebrekirstos Solomon
- Origin
- Ethiopia
- Date
- Dated 1974
- Dimensions
- H 50 cm (19.7 in) · W 60 cm (23.6 in)
- Medium
- Oil on goatskin leather
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ethiopia, 1982.
- Condition
- Surface stable; paint layer intact.
