Ethiopia and Coptic Egypt (Room 66)

4th - 8th centuries AD

By the fourth century AD, Christianity was flourishing in both Egypt and Ethiopia. Christian Egyptians became known as the Copts (from the Greek name for Egyptians) and the church maintained strong links with its Ethiopian counterparts. Since antiquity, Ethiopia had been a major trade route, linking Egypt and the Mediterranean with India and the Far East. The resulting history of cultural exchange and religious diversity is illustrated through objects in Room 66, which reflect the faiths and identities which coexisted in Egypt and Ethiopia.

Objects from towns, monasteries and settlements range from decorated textiles and architectural elements, to sculpture and ceramics.

Image captions (clockwise from top left):

Textile showing Artemis and Actaeon around the 4th century AD

Wall painting of the martyrdom of saints 6th century AD

Painting of a religious procession, 19th century AD

Pottery jug in human form 5th to 7th century AD