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Coptic art is the Christianity art of the Byzantine empire-Roman Egypt and of Coptic Christian Churches. Coptic art is best known for its wall-paintings, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and metalwork, much of which survives in monasteries and churches. The artwork is often functional, as little distinction was drawn between artistry and craftsmanship, and includes tunics and tombstones as well as portraits of saints. The Coptic Museum in Coptic Cairo Coptic museum. copticmuseum.gov.eg houses some of the world's most important examples of Coptic art. Coptic Museum. lastminute.com
The Muslim conquest of Egypt allowed the local Coptic art to influence Egypt's then Islamic art and architecture with many features that are now integral in many Egyptian buildings.
Beginning in the 4th century, churches painted their walls and made icons to reflect an authentic expression of their faith.
The figures of saints display eyes and ears larger in proportion to the rest of the face and a smaller mouth, as well as enlarged heads, signifying a spiritual relationship with God and devotion to prayer. Martyrs' faces were peaceful.
Many Coptic icon painters did not sign their names, but the prominent among them include St. Luke (traditionally believed to be the first icon painter) and two , Pope Macarius I and Pope Gabriel IIIWahba, Zakaria (January 1993) ICONS – 'Their history and Spiritual Significance'. Coptic.net. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
Starting mid-18th century icon painting enjoyed a revival in Egypt and once again was popular. One of the most famous artists was Yuhanna al-Armani whose works were noted for using more developed techniques and novel construction (e.g. using a set of icons to tell a single story).Magdi Guirguis, An Armenian Artist in Ottoman Cairo: Yuhanna al-Armani and His Coptic Icons (Cairo,: The American University in Cairo Press, 2008)
As the Church of Alexandria was the first Church of Africa the influence of Coptic art spread to Sudan and Ethiopia. Some forms of the Coptic cross are known as the Ethiopian cross and many Churches in Ethiopia show the influence of the Coptic art.
are very cheap terracotta bottles bought by pilgrims to Abu Mina, the shrine of Saint Menas, in the 4th and 5th centuries. The clay was impressed before firing with blocks with images of the saint. They have been found nearly all over the Christian world, and many scholars trace influence from their fairly crude images in the emerging iconography of Western medieval art, among other Coptic influences.
Some fine examples of the Coptic textile are shown in museums all over the world and a large collection is in the Coptic Museum in Coptic CairoBernier, Oliver (1989-01-01) Coptic Artistry And Tradition In Old Cairo. New York Times. Retrieved on 2013-08-23. Tens of thousands of coloured fragments found their way into the museums of the world, especially after 1889 when the French archaeologist Albert Gayet published a catalogue of Coptic art and, in the Bulaq Museum, staged the first exhibition of Coptic monuments. A tapestry of Coptic history . Al-Ahram Weekly. Weekly.ahram.org.eg, Issue No. 796 (2006-05-31). Retrieved on 2013-08-23. The early Coptic textiles still produced pictures and decoration incorporating Egyptian and Greek motifs. Shrouds, for example, might incorporate classical elements were painted in the form of an Egyptian sarcophagus and include representations of Egyptian gods to protect the dead. Later coptic textiles showed the influence of Byzantium and later, Islamic art.
During the papacy of Pope Cyril VI, the emergence of Coptic painters like Isaac Fanous, along with the revival of Coptic art, brought about the creation of the Contemporary or Neo-Coptic school of iconography.
In 1952, architect and Coptic Christian Ramses Wissa Wassef founded the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center in Giza, Egypt. He asked 14 children, mostly Copts, to develop a new artform by reviving the ancient coptic weaving method. The coptic weaver Maryam Hermina (born 1932) taught the children the technique. The Art Centre has a significant museum of the 20th century tapestries.
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