Figure

This carved wooden figure was acquired in a mountain village in Ethiopia in 1973 and was added to the Ethnological Collection as a gift in 1990. The symbolism on the chest and headdress refers to the Jewish community in Ethiopia. Known as Beta Israel or Falasha, this minority practises an early form of Judaism enduring centuries of persecution and discrimination. Between 1984 and 2013, more than 90,000 Ethiopian Jews left their homeland for Israel.