MYSTERIES

Mysteries, Magic and Powers of Art

 

Talismans and Portraits

Photo: Perhaps developed from Solomon's seal, this form is often interpreted by contemporary scholars as the "face of man." Protective scroll (detail), nineteenth century, parchment, 30 x 14 cm. Collection: Musee National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, Paris. Gift of Jacques Mercier. Photo courtesy of Guy Vivien.

The talismans are said to have been revealed supernaturally to Old Testament figures, and representational painting to have begun with John's and Luke's images of the Crucifixion and of Mary. Insofar as the clerics knew that talismans had been revealed later than the birth of Christ and that images of cherubs had framed the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple in Jerusalem, the temporal sequence of these stories suggests that for them, the Old Testament is the terrain of the hidden, the New Testament of the self-evident and that this typology is the cornerstone of their classification of images, and of knowledge as well. This creates bridges between the two classes: Christ's cross is the outward form of a sign that is the Name of God, which itself is also Solomon's seal or his net. Consequently Solomon and Susenyos may equally be represented by a full-length portrait or by a seal depicting only their eyes. Furthermore, the same metaphorical plays are applied to the two types of images. The lamb of God, for example, has been shown on a scroll accompanied by the usual formula, which, however, is developed in such a way as to include the name of the patient: "Here is the Lamb of God, which washes away the sins of the world; by the same token, let it wash away the illness of demons and of zar of Walatta Mikael."

Photo: "King Solomon." The inscription beneath the image reads: "O god of Solomon, hide your servant Kenfe Mikael from the eyes of the demons"; the prayer written in the labyrinth quotes the Names of God and invokes a concealment in a woman's favor. Protective scroll (detail), eighteenth century, parchment, 19 x 13 cm. Private collection. Photo courtesy of Guy Vivien.

The eyes in the seals are often rimmed with red, the color of the face, and the points of stars are painted in blue, a treatment similar to the treatment of clothing in the portraits. The same goes for the interlaced ornament surrounding the eyes: it is painted in red. There is a figurative logic in the use of color, then, suggesting a tendency to interpret the seals in portrait terms--as did the scribe in Shire. Gera's talismans can be interpreted similarly. The same holds true for the talismans' forms: the eyes drawn on the scrolls are not simply scattered over the parchment; they are paired, so that they function as active gazes rather than disembodied single eyes.

From Devotion to Protection: Sacred Image and Scroll Image

When the representational images on the scrolls are captioned, the inscriptions resemble those in religious paintings: "Image of Michael," they say, or "How Our Lord told the demon to be silent." Also as in religious paintings, these images illustrate certain texts, among them the passages from the Gospels describing Christ's healing miracles. It is unsurprising, then, that scroll images and religious paintings are sometimes iconographically and stylistically identical. Among the martyrs, George, the foremost of them, is as popular on the scrolls as in the church. The cross, instrument of the triumph of Jesus over Satan and over death, figures explicitly on the majority of scrolls.

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