File:Jewel Tones in the Church of Bet Abba Libanos (3343044262).jpg

A cleric of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church displays processional crosses under a ceremonial umbrella in the 13th-century rock-hewn church of Bet Abba Libanos in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

While the ceremonial crosses are beautiful sacred objects of great age and value, the overall impact of this photo is greater than the sum of the parts.

This is in part due, of course, to the cleric's smiling countenance and the positive attitude he conveys in his photograph.

But what captivates me is the spectrum of sumptuous jewel-like colors in the many fabrics in the photo, from the cleric's vestments (purple, gold and that ineffable shade of green!), to the curtains on either side of the frame, the cleric's pristine white turban and, of course, the print on the umbrella's underside.

It is interesting how often societies in arid environments have selected a whole spectrum of bright colors with which to decorate themselves, their goods, and their buildings.

Speaking of Ethiopian ecclesiastical umbrellas, they have to be seen to be believed. They, too, are covered with fabric in deep tones of blues, greens, reds, and yellows, and adorned with fringes and glitter. And, as we see here, the humble underside, like the wing of an exotic butterfly, is equally sumptuous.