19th century AD. A snake skin amuletic scroll holder containing a healing scroll, which was traditionally written in Ge'ez in black and red ink, the case cut in half to enable access to the scroll; the case stitched on each end and across the top to form a suspension with a thin leather cord. 52 grams, 12.4cm (5"). Ex central London gallery; formerly in a UK private collection. Ethiopian healing scrolls eliminated illness by purging evil spirits and demons from a sick person and served the same purpose that domestic icons fulfilled in other forms of Orthodox Christianity. The preparation of parchment began a ritual in which the animal substituted for the afflicted, and the finished scroll substituted for their skin. This symbolic relationship engendered a close connection between the scroll and its owner. The patron was first rubbed with a live animal, and later bathed in its blood and stomach contents. Afterwards, the skin was soaked, dried, and scraped, and then the finished parchment was cut and sewn into a scroll and kept in a leather case, which was either sealed with a cap or completely sewn shut. [No Reserve]