The Jewelry of Ethiopia exhibition comes as a result of museological research on Ethiopian art and culture as well as an inclination to present the rich — and in this area little known - Ethiopian heritage to the domestic public. The first exhibition dedicated to the art of Ethiopia titled  Art of Ethiopia - Glory of Kings and Testimonies of Faith - was displayed in the Museum of African Art in 2003. The exhibit covered the artistry and creativity that initially appeared and further developed on the basis of and within the Christian tradition. Continuing the presentation of Ethiopian art, jewelry was chosen as an exhibition theme, by which we intended to bring to light traditional body decoration practices of diverse Ethiopian communities.

Traditional jewelry of Ethiopia represents an artistic repository that holds a visual wealth of symbols, shapes, and materials - elements of the traditional art heritage of Ethiopia. Diverse patterns an decorative styles, created on different cultural bases, are visible in jewelry, having become a part of the visual identity of ethnic groups and of Ethiopia as a whole. At the same time jewelry is a treasury of cultural meanings which are materialized in the decorative objects themselves. Certain jewelry forms have existed for centuries in these parts, while many of them remain typical not only for Ethiopia, but also for the wider region of the Horn of Africa. The exhibition is conceived so as to present a portion of these decorating traditions and to point out to specific meanings that certain types of jewelry contain in their original context, the understanding of which takes us a step closer towards assembling the mosaic of Ethiopian culture.

This exhibit displays the jewelry made of materials which are traditionally used: silver, gold, bronze and other metals; then ivory, amber and golden pearls. The majority of items are made of silver and other metals, which in relation to other African communities are not the exceptional features of Ethiopian jewelry; such as cross-pendants, necklaces, bracelets, rings and other decorative elements. Objects displayed at this exhibition come from the museum and private collections. Items from the museum-belong to the recently formed Ethiopian collection, based on the donation of the Seferovie family, the gift of Viseslava Markovié, and the repurchase of a jewelry collection in 2009. The majority of the objects displayed come from private Belgrade collections which were formed during the last century. The items were collected by travelers from these parts — doctors, engineers, diplomats and economy experts who visited Ethiopia. Returning from their travels they were an African experience richer and their memories are eternalized in the form of the traditional art objects they brought back with them. I owe my deep gratitude to the owners of these collections for entrusting their Ethiopian mementos to the Museum, thus enabling their display to the domestic audiences. Many of them are long-time friends and associates of the Museum, namely, Milada Jovanovié Trcka, Dr Ljilja and Dr Dorde Lukacevie, Viseslava Markovié, Nada and Marko lvlilasin, and Gordana and VladimirTrcka.

The exhibition is equipped with photographic records made by engineer Albe Urbanovski from Subotica, during the 1960s. His spouse, Ester Urbanovski, and Vladimir Vuksanovié are credited for making the presentation of the photographs possible. I would also like to express my gratitude CO the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade, for allowing the use of documentary photographs and a loan of two items from their collection for the purpose of this exhibition.

During the study of the subject of Ethiopian jewelry I had had the opportunity to research the photo archives of the University of Oxford Pitt Rivers Museum, Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, as well as the collections of Belgrade's own Museum of Yugoslav History. The obliging assistance of these institutions' curators was of great help.

The exhibition catalogue is bilingual (English/Serbian)