The Netherlands Institute for the Near East

Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten  -  Institut néerlandais du Proche-Orient

no cover

Book Specifications
IV, 190 pp.
softcover
Plates: 64

Catalogue Général du Musée Copte

1994  |  Various publishers; distributed by NINO The Icons ISBN 13: 978-977-235-234-0

P.P.V. van Moorsel

The first volume of the Catalogue Général du Musée Copte describes 184 icons. Apart from 8 Late Antique pieces and 2 Medieval ones (such as a double-sided Byzantine panel with SS. Sergius and Bacchus), the collection mainly contains work from the last three centuries. The majority of the 70 Coptic icons in the Museum could be ascribed to the 18th century masters Ibrahim el-Nasikh and Yuhanna el-Armani, while 4 panels and a "Stand of the Chalice" betray the popular 19th century painter Anastasi el-Rumi. A revelation is the wealth of about 70 post-Medieval icons from Greece or painted under Greek influence, such as the 23 pieces from Syria (especially Aleppo) and from the Holy Land.