Coptic Egypt
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of artefacts from the Egyptian Coptic Period, which date from AD 395 to 641. This collection contains a number of fine textile panels and roundels woven in coloured wool and linen, which were applied as decoration to tunics. These show a decorative horseman, winged figures, men, women and boys, animals, birds, plants and floral scrolls. One sample of linen also preserves ink writing in the Coptic script, further examples of which are found on ostraca (pieces of pottery or stone) from a tomb in the Eastern Desert, which have been recorded in photographs accessioned into the collection. There is an earthenware pilgrimage flask depicting a saint between leaping dolphins, and a mirror ‘compact’ held in a vividly-painted circular case of turned wood. The Coptic cross is depicted on bronze disk earrings and a double-sided wooden comb, and there are two small bronze crosses worn as pendants. The Christian or Coptic Period began when the Roman Empire divided into East and West, and ended when Egypt was conquered by Muslim Arabs. However, Coptic culture continued for many centuries and Coptic Christianity and language still survive in Egypt to this day.
- Broader term