An introduction to the art of Ethiopia The second oldest civilization in Africa, it is the only one to have developed an art of its own following its conversion to Christianity in the 3rd century.

The surprise of finding these black Madonnas, manuscripts, a school of painting that descends from Byzantium and shows Renaissance influences, and the centuries-old tradition of ritual metalwork is parallel to that of encountering a calendar of its own, an independent Church, and a ritual language older than Latin.

The result is a unique art that functions as a window onto a cultural phenomenon of appropriation and affirmation.

The pieces on display at MAPI, from the Kiernan Collection, are a representative sample of the main trends and styles of Ethiopian art, and come from the four regions of the Horn of Africa highlands, between Axum and Addis Ababa, which form the center of Ethiopian culture.