After the Pharaohs [antikvár]

After the Pharaohs Treasures of Coptic art from Egyptian collections The last two centuries of pliaraonic Egypt were spent in a struggle with the Persian Empire until the land was conquered by Alexander the Great in 3 32 BC. Between 306 and 30 BC Egypt was ruled by the dynasty of the Ptolemies, descendants of a general of Alexander. In 30 BC Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire and it was part of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire when it was conquered for the Islamic Caliphate by the army of'Amr ibn al-'As in 639—641 AD. This exhibition presents a history of Egyptian art from the encounter of traditional Egyptian art with the art of the Hellenistic world and the formation of a Hellenistic Egyptian style (the Hellenistic or Ptolemaic period, 306-30 BC) through the Romanisation of Egyptian Hellenistic art (the Roman period, 30 BC— end of the third century AD and late antique period, c. 300—c. 451 AD). This was followed by the Christianisation of the visual arts and the creation of Coptic* art under the strong influence of early Byzantine art (early Byzantine period, c. 451—c. late seventh century) to the survival of traditional Coptic themes and forms of artistic expression in the post-Conquest period. The legitimacy of Ptolemaic and, initially, of Roman rule was supported by the continuity of traditional pharaonic religion and culture. At the same time, however, the new rulers also introduced the cult of Greek and Roman gods and The word Copt derives from Greek aigyplios, "Egypt