Coptic Relief Panels
Egypt was under Byzantine control until the 7th century. Buildings from Byzantine Cairo (Fustat) had many wood carvings in the Coptic tradition, which shaped later Islamic exemplars. As wood was rare in Egypt, wood carving was prized for installation in mosques, churches, palaces, and houses. Pine, cedar, and oak came from Syria and Türkiye, while hardwood like teak came from as far as India. These ornamental lintels and relief panels showcase a great variety of texture, grain, and color; they also include Christian symbols such as Greek crosses, as well as the Greek letters alpha and omega.
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Lintels from Islamic Egypt
Wood carving flourished in Egypt under Islamic rule, especially during the 11th and 12th centuries. At this time, mosques, palaces, and houses were decorated with wooden architectural friezes. These lintels—serving as beams above doors or as panels affixed to walls in private residences—often offer blessings in the Arabic language. The examples here all read, “Perfect blessing and complete grace and perpetual happiness,” or a fragment thereof. These epigraphic bands thus embellished structures and mediated movement between the domestic and natural worlds while offering well-wishes to their owners, dwellers, and visitors.
