Monday, Jul. 04, 1960
TREASURES IN THE DUST
HIDDEN 7,226 ft. high on the Abyssinian plateau, all but inaccessible to the outside world, lies a forgotten city in a land where, according to Homer, the sun is supposed to set. The holy city of Aksum, spiritual capital of the Ethiopian Coptic Church, was once a flourishing market on the trade routes of Greece and Rome, is now reduced to a clutter of huts and crumbling relics in the mountains 350 miles north of Addis Ababa. Yet in Aksum, Ethiopians believe, Sheba once reigned, and in Aksum for nearly 3,000 years Abyssinian kings and rulers of the ancient kingdom of Aksum were crowned.
After the kingdom's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century, the coronation ceremony was performed on the site of the church of St. Mary of Sion, where Ethiopians believe that the son of Solomon and Sheba deposited the Tablet of Moses. So revered is the church that worshipers kiss its steps before they enter; so sacred are its confines that by Coptic custom no woman has ever been permitted within its enclosure, and few male foreigners have been allowed inside by the priests who devote their lives to protecting its treasures.
Within the pavilions of the cathedral area are kept icons and crosses of solid gold, gold-embroidered vestments, and crowns, diadems and tiaras given to the priests by Ethiopia's rulers as ceremonial offerings for military victories or upon their accession. Hung on the limestone walls and pillars of the church are three striking Madonnas (see color) that are kept covered with canvas, except on feast days, to preserve their brilliant colors.
Art authorities know little of the Madonnas' origin. They cannot be sure whether the pieces are tapestries, embroideries, or richly textured paintings on cloth; the few visitors who have taken pictures have not been allowed to examine the works in detail. French Archaeologist Jean Doresse, who has been to Aksum, claims that the Madonnas are watercolors painted on canvas by native artists in the tradition established during the flourishing period of the Portuguese influence in the 16th century. Because of the way that the watercolors sink into the cloth, the paintings have the texture of tapestry. Other authorities, however, claim that the Madonnas are indeed true tapestries, and that they were carried from Europe to this outpost of Christianity in Africa several hundred years ago.
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