A Kingly Craft is a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary fields of African art history and visual studies. Ethiopian illuminated manuscripts have been regarded as remarkable expressions of Christian art and material culture. However, until recently, the elite art form of manuscript production has not been rigorously examined within specific social, cultural, and political contexts. This work is an innovative study of eighteenth and nineteenth century manuscript painting during a critical period of Ethiopian history known as the "Era of the Princes." Focusing on manuscripts comissioned by members of an influential dynasty in the province of Shewa, the book draws attention to the relationship between art and patronage. Shewan leaders commissioned books with illustrations that were increasingly narrative and secular, visually documenting historical events, everyday life at court, and the portrayal of political concepts. This analysis also explores how local leaders in an independent African kingdom used art to establish links with a glorious past, thereby legitimizing their authority and preserving their great deeds for the future.

"Jenkin's analysis of the thirty images she utilizes is meticulous and thorough, and clearly demonstrates her argument that Shewa's rulers influenced the production of illuminated manuscripts, particularly with regard to the inclusion of secular imagery and unique aspects of their lives and courts…. A Kingly Craft will certainly be of interest to Ethiopianists, particularly those in the field of history or visual culture….Jenkins's in-depth analysis of individual images is excellent, and her argument regarding Shewan rulers' impact on the increasing use of secular imagery in Ethiopian painting is convincing and well supported." - African Arts Magazine, Spring 2010

"This study is well-written, interesting, and epistemologically important. Jenkins' analyses and arguments are informed, interesting, sometimes provocative, and often fun to read." - Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Summer 2009