The Coptic monasteries in Wadi ElNatroun were restored in Fatimid times, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the Fatimids themselves used local craftsmen, who were mostly Copts, for enlarging and embellishing the city of Cairo; when Copts executed designs and motifs that were acceptable to their Arab patrons, they did this as competently as they had, in classical times, produced classical themes for their Greek patrons. In each case they adopted some of the motifs or designs for their own use. therefore, when one visits the monasteries of Wadi ElNatrun, it must be borne in mind that some wall-paintings were produced under the instructions of Melkites monks, others under the instructions of Coptic monks. Also, Ale ffb xandrine, Byzantine and Syrian-inspired art were produced there, as well as non-figurative metalwork, wooden sanctuary screens, cabinets and furniture, inspired by Persian art.

Craftsmanship

In studying the objects in the Coptic Museum of Cairo and in various Coptic Museums all over the world, as well as in the various monastic centers, it becomes clear that some sophisticated work must have been produced by highly talented craftsmen. At the same time, though, other work is characterized by folk simplicity. This can be seen in ivory work, tapestries, paintings and architectural decorations. There is a convincing explanation for this discrepancy in sophistication.

Egypt had a long tradition of master craftsmen of different trades who, throughout ancient history, worked under the direction of a supervisor who was a highly professional man: sometimes a High Priest (as in the Old Kingdom) or an Overseer of All the Works of the King (New Kingdom). The supervisor could recognize inferior workmanship, correct drawings and generally maintain the required standard, whatever that happened to be during different periods. If there were changes in the theme or style, this could only be brought about by the master craftsman who was empowered to execute the change. Naturally such a man had an experience in handling large groups of men. Throughout the period of Roman rule of Egypt there was a tendency for such master craftsmen to move around the Roman empire, gravitating towards the centers that could pay for their professional services. They worked in Alexandria and summoned by the emperors to Rome and Constantinople. There they sculpted classically draped forms as competently as they had the stylized Egyptian, and they carved languid reclining figures with no less devotion.

Scholars are not in agreement over which works of art can be safely regarded as Alexandrine -- that is to say, executed by Egyptian craftsmen in Alexandria. Many such works, however, can be safely attributed to Egypt through consideration of subject matter and/or style. Examples of such works include a casket now in the museum in Wiesbaden that is sculpted with a sphinx and the allegory of Father Nile, a small box in the British Museum showing the squat, typically Coptic figure of Saint Mena in a niche, and three plaques from the side of Maximianus' throne at Ravenna Museum that have been attributed by art historians to Egyptian carvers. Also, when the Copts separated from the Eastern Church, master craftsmen who had mastered the technique of deeper drill carving and supervised the execution of works of great sophistication, ``vide'' the stucco wall decorations to be found in the Monastery of the Syrians at Wadi ElNatrun and the friezes from Bawit in the Coptic Museum of Cairo.

Meanwhile, however, monasteries and churches that were built in Upper Egypt, especially in the fifth and sixth centuries, were adorned with carvings and paintings that show an expression of faith that was highly personal and authentic, executed by craftsmen who were not controlled by either the rulings of ``religious authorities'' (as was the case in ancient Egypt), or by a supervisor who maintained standards. There are stone and wood friezes, painted panels and ivory work that is crude and that depends for its appeal largely on qualities of design. This is especially apparent in the representations of the human figure, which are of strange proportion, being somewhat squat with large heads. Several explanations for this have been made. The most convincing of these explanations suggests that Coptic artists were producing work in reaction to the realism of ancient Egyptian and Greek paganism and that this, too, is the reason why early Christians did not encourage the production of statuary in the round. While the tendency seems, indeed, to have been a departure from Hellenistic Alexandrine tradition, towards an abstract two-dimensional style, this may not necessarily have been calculated. Rather, it ffb may be an example of free artistic expression: naive, unsophisticated, yet forceful. It is the simplicity of Coptic Art that gives it its unique flavor.

There are two art forms in which continuity of craftsmanship can be traced, namely the techniques of weaving and illustration. That is to say, Coptic textiles and manuscripts. While the motifs in the former, and the calligraphy in the latter, changed from age to age, the artistic execution of the work, as well as the techniques and the materials used, was of longstanding tradition.

Weaving

Weaving in the early Christian era was, as in earlier times, mainly on linen although there is also some evidence of silkweaving. the techniques -- the so-called tapestry-weave and loom weaving -- were inherited from the ancient Egyptians. The width of the loom used in Coptic tapestries is the same as that in the time of the pharaohs, and the special ``Egyptian knot'' was used as well. in the fourth century wool was introduced and a variant was loopweaving, in which the waft was not pulled tight. Silk became popular in the sixth century and by the eighth century full clerical tunics were woven in linen and silk. The weaving of some are so fine as to appear more like embroidery.

Coptic textiles, which developed into one of the finest of all Coptic arts, included wall hangings, blankets and curtains in addition to garment trimmings. The motifs show great diversity and include classical and Greek-Egyptian themes: lively cupids, dancing girls riding marine monsters, or birds and animals woven into foliage. Fish and grapes were popular Christian motifs as well as biblical scenes such as the Virgin on a donkey holding the Child Jesus in front of her. After Constantinople became the capital of the empire, the weavers' repertoire was increased and enriched with Byzantine and Persian themes. All the textiles show a great sense of liveliness in the stylized figures, and there was an eager market throughout the Roman world in late antiquity, especially for trimings for clerical robes; the most commonly woven were tunics of undyed linen onto which decorative woven bands were worked. In the tenth century, after the Arab conquest, Copts wove textiles for Muslim patrons and the Arab ``Kufie'' script was introduced into their own designs, especially after Arabic started to replace the Coptic language one century later.

Illustration

Coptic manuscripts fall into five main groups: in Greek, Greek and Coptic, in Coptic, Coptic and Arabic and, finally in Arabic and transliterated Coptic. The art of illustrating texts dates to pharaonic times when prayers and liturgies were written on papyrus paper with reed pens and deposited in the tomb of the deceased. The mortuary texts were traced in black outline with catchwords written in red. They were illustrated with figures of Egyptian deities and protective symbols. These vignettes were frequently painted in bright colors with border designs at the top and bottom.

In the Christian era, religious writings were also written on papyrus paper and parchment. The texts were written in black, with red used for titles and the beginnings of the chapters. Many were decorated with designs in bright colors including figures of Martyrs, Saints, Apostles, and Angels, as well as birds, animals, foliage and geometrical designs. A medieval Arab writer, Omar Tussun, wrote about a group of copyists at the Monastery of Saint Makar in Wadi ElNatroun, who were capable of drawing Coptic letters in the form of birds and figures. This is still an art form in Egypt, and Arabic caligraphers still use the reed pen -- an art that they inherited from their Coptic ancestors. Copts started to translate their religious literature into Arabic late in the twelfth century and decorated the opening page with lavish pictures and with border designs. It was not until the nineteenth century that Coptic texts transliterated using Arabic started ffb to appear.

Portraits

No other early Christian movement has such an abundance of paintings of persons who received honour in their own country. Egypt's martyrs, saints, patriarchs, hermits and ascetics, some of whom were honoured throughout Christian world, received special distinction in Egypt. Their heroic deeds, sufferings or miracles were worded in songs and pictured on the walls of ancient temples that were converted to chapels or churches.

The human figures, whether in paintings, carvings or tapestries, are in frontal position with serene faces and a depth of idealized expression. The outlined, almond-shaped eyes are strongly reminiscent of the painted wooden panels from Bawit and the Fayoum, dating back to the first and second centuries, which were placed over the head of the deceased and bound into the mummy wrappings. These panels themselves resemble ``cartonnage'' sacrophagi of the late pharaonic period. In fact, the Fayoum portraits, with the full face and large obsessive eyes -- a feature of Roman medallions and much early Christian art -- are now regarded by art historians as the prototypes for the Byzantine icons.

The Lord Jesus Christ was usually shown enthroned, surrounded by triumphant Saints and Angels, or blessing a figure beside Him. He was always depicted as King, never the suffering servant. Egypt was a land where leadership was idealized and kingship, both on earth and in the afterlife, was something the people understood. A triumphant Jesus -- reborn, benevolent and righteous -- is one of the most significant and continuous characteristics of Coptic art. Another is that Egyptians did not delight in painting scenes of torture, death, or sinners in hell; in the few exceptions where a holy figure is painted undergoing torture, it is implied rather than graphically depicted. This is in tune with ancient Egyptian artistic tradition which, in the words of Cyril Aldred (in his book Egyptian Art in the Days of the Pharaohs, Thames and Hudson, 1980) ``magnify only the heroic and beneficent qualities of divinities and kings, and not the horrific power of tyrants and demons''.

Paintings

It is fitting to conclude this list of artforms with Coptic paintings, which is true art as against what we today call the crafts. The wall paintings reveal an unsophisticated, almost crude style, and a refined, highly developed one. The former may have emerged in the early years of Christianity when ancient temples were converted into churches. Pharaonic reliefs were covered with layers of plaster and Christian themes were painted on the stucco base. These wall-paintings survive ``in situ'' in some places in Egypt including Bagawat in the Kharga Oasis, Saint Simeon's Monastery at Aswan, in the temple of Luxor, the White Monastery at Sohag, the Monastery of Saint Makar in Wadi ElNatroun, and the sanctuary of the Ethiopian Saint Takla Hemanout in the Church of AlMoallaka in Old Cairo. Early wall-paintings that have been transfered to the Coptic Museum include niches from the Monasteries of Bawit and Sakkara. the Copts loved bright, clear color and were extremely talented in mixing different dyes and powdered rock, often using the white of an egg to combine them.

Icons, or images of sacred personalities painted on wooden panels, that are themselves regarded as sacred, were a later development. When it was realized that the war on paganism launched by the emperor Theodosius had not stopped pious people from sanctifying holy relics, the church authorized the painting of religious themes that would aid the faithful in an understanding of Christianity, especially scenes depicting the Nativity, the Virgin and Child, the apostles and the lives of the saints. According to the Arab historian AlMakrizi, the Pope Cyril I hung icons in all the churches of Alexandria in the year 420 A.D. and then decreed that they should be hung in the other churches of Egypt as well.

In th ffb e earliest development of icon painting the artists worked directly on the wooden panel but later they began to cover the surface with a soft layer of gypsum onto which lines could be chiseled to control the flow of liquid gold. There is indication that more than one artist was involved in the production of a single work but the face was painted by the master. Such division of labor resulted in greater production, but it also brought an end to any personal expression of piety such as had characterized the wall paintings. When Egypt turned increasingly towards Syria and Palestine after the schism in the fifth century, her saints and martyrs began to take on the stiff, majestic look of Syrian art. There began to be an expression of spirituality rather than naivety on the faces of the subjects, more elegance in the drawing of the figures, more use of gold backgrounds and richly adorned clerical garments.

Painters were not, at first, constrained by a rigid code. They were free to experiment with their themes. Consequently, there is a variety of interpretations in the treatment of a single subject that is quite striking. By the fifth and sixth centuries the angel Gabriel, for example, was sometimes painted with a sword, another time with a cross, and on occasion, with a trumpet; he either wore a flowing robe or was clad in richly embroidered vestments. Such variations are especially notable in scenes of the Annunciation and the Nativity, which are seldom rendered twice with the same details.

Paintings produced in Egypt under Byzantine rule did not resemble the opulent frescoes and mosaics of the eastern Roman Empire, which was state-sponsored art between 550 A.D. and the conquest of the Turks in the fifteenth century. Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, however, a stronghold of the Melkite faction, was rebuilt in the Golden Age of Justinian and adorned with some of the finest Byzantine icons to be found in the world. Some were painted on site, and others were imported from the provinces of the empire and from Constantinople itself.

Few centuries after the Arab conquest of Egypt in the seventh century paintings became successively less ``Coptic'' in character. This became even more apparent in the thirteenth century when the art of copying panels and miniatures started and Anba Gabriel produced exquisite and brilliantly adorned work. He set a standard for copyists. Little original work was produced. By the senventeenth and eighteenth centuries painters like John ElNassikh, Baghdady Abu ElSaad, and John the Armenian -- who are among the greatest painters of icons in Egypt -- turned to Syrian and Byzantine models for inspiration. Finally, Anastasy, a Greek artist, was commissioned by the Copts to paint many of the icons that today hang in the churches of Old Cairo.

Coptic Art History