Ethiopian prayer scroll
Ms. prayer scroll; written and decorated in Ethiopia, ca. 1955.
Decoration: 4 colored amuletic drawings: at the top a red, blue, and black angel guards the owner with upraised sword; at the center is a decorative panel with a face within a square that forms the center of a cross motif with geometrical designs; near the end is another face surrounded by rays that extend in four directions; at the end is a stylized cruciform motif. The prayer texts are written between the drawings. Decorative bars are painted at the stitched junctions of the vellum sections. The entire length of the scroll has a narrow red border on both sides. Text is written in black and red.
Binding: in brown morocco cylinder case lined with colorful paper stamped in geometrical designes, labeled: Ethiopian prayer scroll, by Julia Parker Wightman.