"Plate 5 is from an Abyssinian MS. of the sixteenth century, on the Life of the Virgin. The real origin of the artistic decoration is unmistakable. It is what we call Byzantine, but ought rather to be called AEgypto-Grecian. The people of Abyssinia, who were mainly Southern Arabs or Sabasans, received their instruction in art along with their Christianity a few centuries after the beginning of the era, and they have never abandoned them. As for the writing which appears on the plate, it is in the old Geez or Ethiopic language, and descended from that of the Sabaaan people whose monumental inscriptions in Himyaritic language and characters are now attracting considerable interest."
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