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Finding Aid for the Gerald and Barbara Weiner collection of Ethiopic manuscripts, ca. 1600-1960
1874
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Title: Gerald and Barbara Weiner collection of Ethiopic manuscripts
Date (inclusive): ca. 1600-1960
Collection number: 1874
Creator:
Weiner, Gerald.
Extent:
45 boxes (ca. 28.5 linear ft.)
12 oversize boxes
Abstract: A collection of 239 Ethiopic manuscripts (137 bound volumes and 102 scrolls), on vellum, dated ca. 1600 - 1960. The collection
consists of religious and liturgical works used in the Ethiopian Christian tradition. The majority of the texts were written
in the Ge'ez script, a classical form of calligraphic lettering that is related to the Amharic language.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Gerald A. and Barbara Weiner, November 22, 2010.
[Identification of item], Gerald and Barbara Weiner collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts (Collection 1874). Department of Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
6688208
The collection consists of 239 Ethiopic manuscripts, including 137 bound volumes and 102 scrolls. The chronological range
of the collection spans from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, with the majority of the items being produced in the
late 1800s through the mid-1900s. The various genres of these texts are principally religious and liturgical, including the
Gospels, psalters, missals, homiliaries, antiphonaries, and hagiographic works. The texts are used in the services of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The scrolls contain various magical prayers believed to have protective and/or curative effects.
Nearly all of the manuscripts in the collection include a combination of hand-painted illustrations, annotations, and ornamental
bindings that have been decorated with fabrics, or with inset, hand-sculpted figurines. A number of the bound manuscripts
are housed in handcrafted leather carrying cases. Two of the manuscripts have accordion bindings. Among the languages included
are Ge'ez, Amharic, and Arabic.
The items are organized by format, manuscripts and scrolls.
Online Access to Digital Images
Digital images of the manuscripts and scrolls in this collection can be accessed online from
The Ethiopian Manuscript Imaging Project (EMIP), an online resource developed in the Spring of 2005 by Steve Delamarter with the mission to help preserve images of Ethiopia
's manuscript heritage and make them available for scholarly study. EMIP is made available through Vivarium, a searchable
database delivering a variety of digital objects, created and maintained by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.
To search for a specific manuscript or scroll in the Gerald and Barbara Weiner Ethiopic manuscript collection, search the
EMIP site
http://www.hmml.org/vivarium/sgd.htm
by entering keywords in the search box.
Example:
- Weiner Codex 4
- Weiner Magic Scroll 75
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Manuscripts, Ethiopic.