Fodor's Expert Review Coptic Museum
Opened in 1910 and home to the world's largest collection of Coptic antiquities, this museum traces Coptic history from its beginnings to its full rise, providing a link between ancient and Islamic Egypt, as most of the city's population remained Christian until the 11th century, a half millennium after the Arabs brought Islam to the country.
The insightful displays are more or less arranged by medium. The first floor has carved stone and stucco, frescoes, and woodwork. The second floor includes textiles, manuscripts, icons, and metalwork. In some cases, chronological divisions are made within each grouping to show the evolution of the art form.
The collections also demonstrate how eras can beautifully overlap to produce exceptional artistry, as is evident through the slight Pharaonic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences detected across the museum. Many carvings and paintings, for instance, help to trace the transformations of the ancient key of life, the ankh, to... READ MORE
Opened in 1910 and home to the world's largest collection of Coptic antiquities, this museum traces Coptic history from its beginnings to its full rise, providing a link between ancient and Islamic Egypt, as most of the city's population remained Christian until the 11th century, a half millennium after the Arabs brought Islam to the country.
The insightful displays are more or less arranged by medium. The first floor has carved stone and stucco, frescoes, and woodwork. The second floor includes textiles, manuscripts, icons, and metalwork. In some cases, chronological divisions are made within each grouping to show the evolution of the art form.
The collections also demonstrate how eras can beautifully overlap to produce exceptional artistry, as is evident through the slight Pharaonic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences detected across the museum. Many carvings and paintings, for instance, help to trace the transformations of the ancient key of life, the ankh, to the cross. Depictions of the baby Jesus suckling at his mother's breast are also striking in their resemblance to pharaonic suckling representations.
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