Images from World History:
Feudal Northeast Africa: Feudal Egypt
1. Coptic painting on wooden panel of Bishop Abraham. From Bawit, Middle Egypt. 6-7th c. A.D.
The hieratic treatment of this local bishop suggests that this panel portrait has become a cult object,
a mediation of divine grace, characteristic of a feudal aesthetic. In early feudal art, private life and
the material dimension of life, instead of contradicting the spiritual dimension, become its manifestation
and necessary mediation.
2. Fresco from the apse of Bawit monastery church in Middle Egypt. Christ enthroned, with Virgin and
Child, angels, Apostles. 6-7th c. A.D. Typical Coptic colors of reddish browns, blue and yellow.
Monasteries were closely associated with early feudal art because they aimed for salvatation through
the manipulation of daily life rather than a transcendence of the mundane.
3. Detail from the fresco above of Virgin and Child. 6-7th c. A.D. (Cairo: Coptic Museum).
Mary here has become a cult image, an object of veneration, as is shown by her hieratic treatment.
Rather than the cult object itself being the object of veneration, the divine spirit is presumed to infuse
material things where it is more readily accessed by those who do not inherit the tools of ancient
philosophy.
Ethnogenesis on the Upper Nile (4-6th c. A.D.)
1. Hollow clay stand. From a cemetery east of Meroë. Attributed to the Noba of southern Upper Nubia.
4-6th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 27.7 cm. Noba horsemen of the Western Sudan contributed to
Meroë's fall and were heirs of Meroitic culture. However, they did not develop it nor maintain contact
with outsiders. Their major achievement was tumulus graves along the Nile south of the 4th Cataract. The
type site for their culture is el-Kurru, near the Fourth Cataract.
2. Ballana pottery from Qasr Ibrim. 5-6th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 12.2 cm. Lower Nubia from the
4-6th century was a time of ethnogenesis. Around a core of the surviving culture of
Kerma gathered the Nobatae people, probably descended from the Noba, and the Blemmyes from the
Eastern Desert. The culture that emerged at this time and extended south from the First Cataract is called
the Ballana culture, named after a type site below the Second Cataract. A revival of trade with Roman
Egypt brought Mediterranean influences and monks, which extinguished the last traces of the cultures of
Kemet and Meroë. The closing of the temple of Isis at Philae in 540 A.D. marks the end of the Ancient
tradition.
Kingdom of Nobatia (4th c. to beg. 8th c. A.D.)
1. Silver crown with embossed decoration and garnet and carnelian inlays. From royal tumulus at Ballana.
Restored. (London: British Museum). The rams's head with feathered crown, uraeus snakes, and Horus falcons
derive from Meroitic versions of Kemet motifs. 4th c. AD. 30.6 cm. Rich royal graves are found at Ballana and
Qustul, on opposite sides of the Nile. By the Early Christian Period, 6-8th c., Christian iconography has displaced
pagan traditions, and Faras became the capitol.
2. Sandstone tombstone of Nikea, from Kalabsha. (London: British Museum). Written in Greek, the standard
liturgical language of Christian Nubia. In the Christian era, the elite placed tombstsones in the superstructure
of graves. 18 cm. The priest Julian in 543 A.D., sent out by Justianian for strategic reasons, converted the
Nobatian king in 543 A.D. to Monophysite Christianity. He was suceeded by Longinus, who completed the
conversion of the kingdom. In 652, a treaty with Islam, called the Baqt, guaranteed Nubian independence
in exchange for a small annual tribute of slaves and the construction of a mosque at Old Dongala. This treaty
ensured Nubian independence until the 12th c.
Kingdom of Makuria
1. Footed bowl of Classic Christian period (9-11th c. ) from Qasr Ibrim. (London: British Museum). The glossy
orange finish is typical of high quality Christian Nubian pottery called "Dongola Ware." 13.3 cm. While little
large-scale art was produced at this time, there was a considerable production of minor arts. Qasr Ibrim was a
major center for such industries as woodworking, leather, textiles and basket making. The Kingdom of Makuria
was centered on its capitol, Old Dongola, and stretched from the Third Cataract to the Fifth, and absorbed
Nobatia at the beginning of the 8th century and converted to the Nobatia's Monophysite form of Christianity,
subject to the Patriarch of Alexandria. As the monarchy lost its ancient sacral character, the secular institutions
of government flourished and came to be much admired by the Moslems. The Eparch (viceroy for Lower
Nubia resided at Qasr Ibrim and was responsible for commerce with Moslem Egypt.
2. Wall painting from Faras Cathedral showing Bishop Maranos of Pachoras (Faras). 1005-1036 A.D. Part
of a series of portraits of local bishops begun in the ninth century. After the ninth century, Northern
Nubia enjoyed a rising standard of living and more independence thanks to Moslem mercantile settlements.
But the kings prevented any Moslem penetration south of the Second Cataract, and welcomed instead
close ties with the Byzantine Empire, and that association shaped political ideology and culture. In Faras
are a well-preserved cathedral and bishop's palace, and the city remained an important religious center
until the 13th c.
3. Page from the Book of Revelations, written in Old Nubian. From the Cathedral ruins at Qasr Ibrim. (London:
British Museum). Old Nubian, written in Coptic script, was the vernacular language of Medieval Nubia. For
religious texts, Greek was also used. 19.3 cm.
4. Iron scissors, a padlock with a chain, and a knife from Qasr Ibrim. (London: British Museum). Early to Late
Christian era (7-14th c.). From the Ballana Period, iron was commonly used in domestic objects. Nubia did not
observe the Baqt conscientiously, and finally the Mamelukes in
Egypt after 1260 intervened in Nubian affairs more aggressively. This period saw a militarization associated
with the growing power of feudal lords and a decline of the monarchy as well as of culture and the economy.
By the late 14th c., the kingdom of Makuria broke up into hostile principalities.
5. Wooden carving of a baptism, from Qasr Ibrim. 12-13th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 8.9 cm.
Kingdom of Alwa
1. Soba-ware pottery shards. (London: British Museum). Largest fragment is 10.8 cm. Soba was the capital
of the Christian Kingdom of Alwa. Alwa corresponds to the area dominated by the Noba after the collapse
of Meroë. The city was located on the Blue Nile, southeast of Khartoum. In tradition, the king of Alwa
was converted to Christianity by the missionary Longinus in about 580 A.D. By the 10th century, this kingdom
was apparently quite prosperous, perhaps because of slave trading with Kordofan to the south. Here in the
upper reaches of the Nile, Moslem influence grew, and the people in time adopted Islam. The kingdom eventually
fell to the Funj ruler in the early sixteenth century.
2. Glass vessel of Moslem manufacture found in the Moslem quarter of Soba, capitol of Alwa. Probably
14th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 28 cm.
2. Fresco from the apse of Bawit monastery church in Middle Egypt. Christ enthroned, with Virgin and
Child, angels, Apostles. 6-7th c. A.D. Typical Coptic colors of reddish browns, blue and yellow.
Monasteries were closely associated with early feudal art because they aimed for salvatation through
the manipulation of daily life rather than a transcendence of the mundane.
3. Detail from the fresco above of Virgin and Child. 6-7th c. A.D. (Cairo: Coptic Museum).
Mary here has become a cult image, an object of veneration, as is shown by her hieratic treatment.
Rather than the cult object itself being the object of veneration, the divine spirit is presumed to infuse
material things where it is more readily accessed by those who do not inherit the tools of ancient
philosophy.
1. Hollow clay stand. From a cemetery east of Meroë. Attributed to the Noba of southern Upper Nubia.
4-6th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 27.7 cm. Noba horsemen of the Western Sudan contributed to
Meroë's fall and were heirs of Meroitic culture. However, they did not develop it nor maintain contact
with outsiders. Their major achievement was tumulus graves along the Nile south of the 4th Cataract. The
type site for their culture is el-Kurru, near the Fourth Cataract.
2. Ballana pottery from Qasr Ibrim. 5-6th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 12.2 cm. Lower Nubia from the
4-6th century was a time of ethnogenesis. Around a core of the surviving culture of
Kerma gathered the Nobatae people, probably descended from the Noba, and the Blemmyes from the
Eastern Desert. The culture that emerged at this time and extended south from the First Cataract is called
the Ballana culture, named after a type site below the Second Cataract. A revival of trade with Roman
Egypt brought Mediterranean influences and monks, which extinguished the last traces of the cultures of
Kemet and Meroë. The closing of the temple of Isis at Philae in 540 A.D. marks the end of the Ancient
tradition.
1. Silver crown with embossed decoration and garnet and carnelian inlays. From royal tumulus at Ballana.
Restored. (London: British Museum). The rams's head with feathered crown, uraeus snakes, and Horus falcons
derive from Meroitic versions of Kemet motifs. 4th c. AD. 30.6 cm. Rich royal graves are found at Ballana and
Qustul, on opposite sides of the Nile. By the Early Christian Period, 6-8th c., Christian iconography has displaced
pagan traditions, and Faras became the capitol.
2. Sandstone tombstone of Nikea, from Kalabsha. (London: British Museum). Written in Greek, the standard
liturgical language of Christian Nubia. In the Christian era, the elite placed tombstsones in the superstructure
of graves. 18 cm. The priest Julian in 543 A.D., sent out by Justianian for strategic reasons, converted the
Nobatian king in 543 A.D. to Monophysite Christianity. He was suceeded by Longinus, who completed the
conversion of the kingdom. In 652, a treaty with Islam, called the Baqt, guaranteed Nubian independence
in exchange for a small annual tribute of slaves and the construction of a mosque at Old Dongala. This treaty
ensured Nubian independence until the 12th c.
1. Footed bowl of Classic Christian period (9-11th c. ) from Qasr Ibrim. (London: British Museum). The glossy
orange finish is typical of high quality Christian Nubian pottery called "Dongola Ware." 13.3 cm. While little
large-scale art was produced at this time, there was a considerable production of minor arts. Qasr Ibrim was a
major center for such industries as woodworking, leather, textiles and basket making. The Kingdom of Makuria
was centered on its capitol, Old Dongola, and stretched from the Third Cataract to the Fifth, and absorbed
Nobatia at the beginning of the 8th century and converted to the Nobatia's Monophysite form of Christianity,
subject to the Patriarch of Alexandria. As the monarchy lost its ancient sacral character, the secular institutions
of government flourished and came to be much admired by the Moslems. The Eparch (viceroy for Lower
Nubia resided at Qasr Ibrim and was responsible for commerce with Moslem Egypt.
2. Wall painting from Faras Cathedral showing Bishop Maranos of Pachoras (Faras). 1005-1036 A.D. Part
of a series of portraits of local bishops begun in the ninth century. After the ninth century, Northern
Nubia enjoyed a rising standard of living and more independence thanks to Moslem mercantile settlements.
But the kings prevented any Moslem penetration south of the Second Cataract, and welcomed instead
close ties with the Byzantine Empire, and that association shaped political ideology and culture. In Faras
are a well-preserved cathedral and bishop's palace, and the city remained an important religious center
until the 13th c.
3. Page from the Book of Revelations, written in Old Nubian. From the Cathedral ruins at Qasr Ibrim. (London:
British Museum). Old Nubian, written in Coptic script, was the vernacular language of Medieval Nubia. For
religious texts, Greek was also used. 19.3 cm.
4. Iron scissors, a padlock with a chain, and a knife from Qasr Ibrim. (London: British Museum). Early to Late
Christian era (7-14th c.). From the Ballana Period, iron was commonly used in domestic objects. Nubia did not
observe the Baqt conscientiously, and finally the Mamelukes in
Egypt after 1260 intervened in Nubian affairs more aggressively. This period saw a militarization associated
with the growing power of feudal lords and a decline of the monarchy as well as of culture and the economy.
By the late 14th c., the kingdom of Makuria broke up into hostile principalities.
5. Wooden carving of a baptism, from Qasr Ibrim. 12-13th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 8.9 cm.
1. Soba-ware pottery shards. (London: British Museum). Largest fragment is 10.8 cm. Soba was the capital
of the Christian Kingdom of Alwa. Alwa corresponds to the area dominated by the Noba after the collapse
of Meroë. The city was located on the Blue Nile, southeast of Khartoum. In tradition, the king of Alwa
was converted to Christianity by the missionary Longinus in about 580 A.D. By the 10th century, this kingdom
was apparently quite prosperous, perhaps because of slave trading with Kordofan to the south. Here in the
upper reaches of the Nile, Moslem influence grew, and the people in time adopted Islam. The kingdom eventually
fell to the Funj ruler in the early sixteenth century.
2. Glass vessel of Moslem manufacture found in the Moslem quarter of Soba, capitol of Alwa. Probably
14th c. A.D. (London: British Museum). 28 cm.