The first ever locally-curated exhibition on Coptic art opens to the Public
Nevine El-Aref
7/12/2010
The first ever locally-curated exhibition on Coptic art opened to the Public on Wednesday
At Al-Amir Taz palace in Al-Khalifa area, culture minister Farouk Hosny and Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) are organizing a press conference on Wednesday to announce the opening of the Coptic Art Revealed exhibition. The exhibit displays over 200 artifacts from the Coptic era and was organized to celebrate the centennial of the Coptic Art Museum, which was renovated and reopened in 2006. Islamic and Coptic religious leaders will be attending this great event as well.
Hawass stated that Coptic Art Revealed is the first locally produced exhibition on Coptic art. The show focuses on the splendors of the Coptic era and highlights the Copts’ outstanding contribution to Egypt’s diverse and rich heritage. The exhibition includes many painted icons by renowned artists, beautiful textiles, illuminated manuscripts, an excerpt from the famous Nag Hammadi Library, stone and wooden friezes with intricate Coptic designs and splendid daily-use objects, among other invaluable pieces.
Nadja Tomoum, the exhibition creator and director told Ahram Online that the displayed objects were carefully selected from several museum collections in Egypt. This includes treasures from the Coptic Museum’s storage and significant artworks from its permanent display, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat and the Museum of Islamic Art in Babul Khalq. Items from the National Museum, the Greco-Roman Museum and the Museum of the New Library in Alexandria were also selected, as well as others from the Beni-Suef and Al Arish Museums.
The exhibition will last for two months and it was made possible by a number of generous sponsors, including the SCA, the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, Orascom Construction Industries and Telecom, Bavaria, NADIM Industries of Mashrabeya, Sonesta Group Egypt and Villanova Egypt.
