Reliefs & Paintings Museum scale replicas

The mummy portraits are a collection of remarkably lifelike funerary paintings made in the 1st–3rd centuries AD, during Egypt's Roman Period. They are popularly known as the “Fayoum portraits” because it is there that the majority of these amazing artifacts have been discovered. Placed over the faces of the wrapped mummies of the deceased to preserve their features for eternity, they represent a unique cultural fusion combining Graeco-Roman naturalistic art with a purely Egyptian funerary purpose.

In around 3,100 BC, the ancient Egyptian kingdom was founded when the distinct regions of Upper and Lower Egypt were finally unified, and it is Narmer who is believed by many to be the one who completed this process of unification. Recording his great achievement on his now-famous palette, the king can be seen about to smite an enemy chief on one side, and on the other two fierce fantastical animals called serpopards are being brought under control in a beautiful symbol of the unification of the Two Lands.

The icon depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child on her left arm, symbolizing holy motherhood and divine love. The work follows the traditional Coptic style, characterized by its spiritual symbolism and unique aesthetic often found in Egyptian Christian heritage.

The image depicts a Coptic icon of Saint George (also known as Mar Girgis) slaying a dragon while riding a white horse, dates back to the 18th-century. The Dragon symbolizes evil or the devil being vanquished by the saint's spear. The icon features traditional Coptic elements, including large expressive eyes and vibrant colors like gold, green, blue, and red.

This Coptic icon depicts Saint Philopater Mercurius, a famous 3rd-century Christian martyr widely known by his Arabic title, Abu Seifein (the "The Man of Two Swords"). Saint Mercurius (The Equestrian): He is shown riding a black horse, triumphantly holding two crossed swords above his head. One sword represents his earthly military rank, while the second is a divine sword given to him by the Archangel Michael (the figure in the upper right) to grant him victory over barbarian invaders.