SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Coptic Art Books from Egypt by Nabil Selim Atalla - Book Reviews (by Hany N. Takla)

Introduction: For many years Mr. Nabil Selim Atalla, of Cairo Egypt, has dedicated his time, efforts, and resources to preserve Coptic Egypt photographically. The importance of his work lies not only in photographical skills but for the fact that images that he recorded are usually susceptible to deterioration with time. A painful fact brought upon by the inadequate level of resources and knowledge in preserving such treasures for a variety of external as well as internal reasons. Earlier works: The first fruits of his works were two smaller size, sampler-type, volumes in 1986, titled "Coptic Egypt" and "Coptic Icons". They since have gone out of print. The first of these two pocket-size books introduced images of sites and artifacts from Alexandria and Cairo Churches along with those from Monastic sites throughout Egypt. The second dealt mainly with icons from the important Coptic Churches in Cairo and from different monasteries throughout Egypt. He also included a variety of Fayoum portraits, preserved in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. Both books included descriptions in English, French, and German. Then in August 1989, he published a larger two- volume set of Coptic Art, including about 370 different color plates of more treasures from Coptic Egypt. Volume one dealt with the beautiful wall paintings found throughout Egyptian churches and monasteries. He also included an addendum for then newly discovered Coptic wall painting in the Syrian Monastery in the Western Desert of Egypt. Volume two dealt with Sculpture and Architecture elements found in Coptic Egypt. The first volume was arranged by location while the second was arranged by category. Both volumes included description in English and French. Later Works: In January 2000, through the good offices of Bishop Dioscorus from Cairo, the Society received two more works by this artist for distribution to students, scholars, and enthuthiasts of Coptic Art

1. The Escape to Egypt According to Coptic Tradition: This publication appeared in 1993. The editor takes the reader on journey of the sites that the Holy Family has been in during their flight into Egypt. These sites are the ones mentioned in Coptic tradition of this blessed event. It included sites in Lower as well as in Upper Egypt. The dimensions of the book are roughly the same as those of the Coptic Art volumes, mentioned above. In its 68 pages (including the illustrated front and back covers), the editor presents a full- page map of Egypt, indicating the travel path of the Holy Family. He then presents each of these marked sites in a combination of site pictures and related icons found in there. He accomplishes this using about 85 fully annotated, beautiful color plates. All the annotations in this book are in English only. This book is highly recommended for any one that want to get a pictorial view of the Coptic Tradition of the Flight into Egypt, especially now that Egypt is preparing to celebrate the 2000th Anniversary of this event. 2. Coptic Icons (2-volume set): In 1998, Mr. Atalla published his largest work to date. It was in the form of a 2-volume set, titled "Coptic Icons". It was done in a larger format than his earlier Coptic Art volumes. It expanded extensively on topics from his earlier publications. The set included over 500, mostly color, plates in most of the various ways that icongraphic images have been produced in Coptic Egypt. All the included pictures are annotated in English only. Volume one included four distinct topical sections. The first contained grouped images pertaining to the Lord. The second was a 20-page section of Triptych-type, or folded icons, from different monasteries and churches throughout Egypt. The third dealt with icons, grouped by hagiographic subjects or by artists. The last section dealt with rare illumination and miniatures from various Coptic Manuscripts in Egyptian collections. The

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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