Editing Medieval art (section)

== African Medieval Art ==
Often overlooked in reviews of medieval art are the works of the African continent. Among these are the arts of Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia. After the African churches refused the [[Council of Chalcedon]] and became the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], their art developed in new directions, related to Byzantium but different from it.

[[Coptic art]] arose from indigenous Egyptian conceptions, with a non-realist style, often with large-eyed figures floating on unpainted backgrounds. Coptic decoration used intricate geometric designs, which Islamic art later followed.  Because of the exceptionally good preservation of Egyptian burials, we know more about the textiles used by the less well-off in Egypt than anywhere else.  These were often elaborately decorated with figurative and patterned designs.

[[Ethiopian art]] was a vital part of the [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksumite empire]], with one important example being the [[Garima Gospels]], among the earliest illustrated biblical manuscripts anywhere. Works about the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] were especially likely to be illustrated, as demonstrated by a royal manuscript known as [[Hill Museum & Manuscript Library|EMML]] 9002 created at the end of the 1300s.<ref>Belcher, Wendy Laura, Jeremy Brown, Mehari Worku, Dawit Muluneh, and Evgeniia Lambrinaki. "The Ethiopian Stories about the Miracles of the Virgin Mary (''Täˀammərä Maryam'')" (with ). ''Ethiopia at the Crossroads: Exhibition Catalogue'', ed. Christine Sciacca. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum. 2024.</ref> Some of these images of Mary can be viewed at the Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary Project |url=https://pemm.princeton.edu/manuscripts/EMML9002 |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=pemm.princeton.edu |language=en}}</ref>