Bohairic Coptic Gospels

This page comes from a manuscript probably copied for the patriarch of Alexandria, Mark II, of whom there is a portrait at the beginning of the book. The scene, painted in shades of blue, gold and green, depicts the Transfiguration of Christ (Luke 9:28–36).

The use of parchment, which had become rare in the twelfth century – it was replaced by paper, introduced by the Arabs in Iraq in the late eighth century – the quality of the copying and the richness of the seventy-four illustrations makes this work a luxurious production. It was probably brought back to France after a mission to the Orient in the seventeenth century, but legend has it that Louis IX – Saint Louis – had acquired it in the mid-thirteenth century.

The principle of decoration adopted was – for the art of the Coptic miniature – the beginning a new tradition inspired by the paintings of Byzantine manuscripts. On a single page are the portraits of the four evangelists while on the other pages the illustrations are placed in the text.

The text in Bohairic Coptic, the Nile delta dialect that had become the liturgical language of the Coptic Church in the tenth century, is written in Greek uncial script. Various motifs painted in gold punctuate the text. A large decorated spiral separates the two paragraphs. The same principle of giving rhythm to the text with golden circular motifs and more elaborate motifs was used for manuscripts of the Qur’an.

There is an inscription in Arabic above the illustration. Serving as a caption, it attests to the existence of readers acquainted with the Arabic language and the decline of the Coptic language, supplanted by that of the new masters of Egypt[1] from the tenth century.

As in several other scenes in the volume, the composition is particularly elegant[2]: two plant elements frame the three apostles prostrate in front of Christ blessing. The stems of the bush with yellow fruit make a curved movement that harmoniously echoes that of the bowing apostles. The upright posture of Jesus is underlined by the slender stems of the plant with blue and gold flowers.

The dynamism of the scene is undeniable – the movements are almost perceptible. This feeling of life is relayed by the lively folds of the blue, green, crimson and gold tunics. This very lively treatment of textiles is also found in Byzantine art, both in mosaic wall decorations and in manuscript paintings[3]. The illustrations of contemporary or slightly later Islamic manuscripts also contain this style of drapery[4].

The fairly detailed surroundings give a vivid character to the scenes, which may also be found in Mesopotamian paintings of the same period. The blue and gold flowers behind Christ are of the same type as those adorning a page of a Syrian Kalila wa Dimna from 1200–20[5]. There are several echoes of the plant with curved stems behind the three apostles in a manuscript of the Book of Theriac (Jazira, 1199)[6]. Other pages of this volume depict domed architecture filled with figures in oriental dress, sometimes wearing turbans, which may also be observed in Ayyubid enamelled and gilded glass[7].

This Christian work has a place, stylistically, in the history of Arab illustration painting, which appeared in the late twelfth century, reached its peak in the mid-thirteenth century, then declined and almost entirely disappeared in the late fourteenth century.

[2] See, among other examples, the pyramidal composition that dominates the organisation of the lower section of folio 224 v.

[3] Lectionary: portrait of Mark the Evangelist, painting on parchment, Constantinople, c. 1000, Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai, Greek manuscript 204, fol. 5v.

[4] The Bedouins, Maqāmāt by al-Harīrī (The Assemblies of al-Harīrī), copied in Iraq in the early thirteenth century, Institute of Oriental Studies, Saint Petersburg, fol. 177, inv. C-23.

[5] Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, Manuscrits orientaux, arabe 3465, f. 51.

[6] Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, Manuscrits orientaux, arabe 2964, ff. 5, 22, 55.

[7] Beaker with riders, Syria, mid-thirteenth century, blown glass, enamelled and gilded decoration, Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. OA 6131.