Jacopo Gnisci is an art historian specialising in Ethiopian Art and Christian manuscript illumination. He is a lecturer in the art and visual cultures of the global south at University College London and a visiting scholar at the British Museum.

Tigray’s people and their heritage urgently need protecting

Reports of atrocities in the Ethiopian region include the targeting of Tigray’s unparallelled cultural treasures

3 Feb 2021
The Virgin and Child surrounded by the apostles and two angels (mid 15th century), Master of the Amber-Spotted Tunic, Ethiopia. Private collection

The emperor who rooted out magic in medieval Ethiopia

Vivid illuminated manuscripts show how important the cult of the Virgin Mary was to the emperor Zar’a Ya‘eqob

15 Feb 2020
Crown, probably made in Gondar, Ethiopia, around 1740, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The looted Ethiopian artefacts that ended up in UK museums

In the debate surrounding the Maqdala artefacts, the significance of the individual objects is often ignored

31 May 2018