The Role of Coptic symbol in Design Decoration

    

  This research aims to enrich the field of decorative designs for youth clothes. The decorative ideas have been inspired from some main symbols of Coptic arts. The study of Coptic arts can contribute to design development and innovation. This incorporates the cultural power of Coptic art as a vital starting point for new design ideas and development of products. For this purpose, some methods of printing and embroidery have been applied. Twenty-one designs are presented here and five of them have been implemented.

Introduction.;

The term "Copts" is equivalent to the word "Egyptians". It is derived from the ancient Egyptian word "Ha-ka-Ptah," i.e. "the house of the spirit Ptah" the most highly revered deity in Egyptian mythology (Atiya, 1991). Nowadays, this term refers to the Orthodox Christian People who lives in Egypt. However, the Copts as the successors of the ancient Egyptians are defined as the modern sons of the Pharaohs. Coptic arts began in ancient Egypt about the third century BC after opening of Alexander the great in 332 BC. As a result of the conflict between the ancient Egyptian arts and the other ones which are reaching Egypt with each new king continued since 30 BC until after opening Egypt by Muslims in 641 AD (Samir, 2004).

Coptic art is religious, public and civil art born in the late stages of the Pharaoh's. It has special characters, different from the other arts, influenced by Greek/Roman arts alongside by Byzantine and ancient far Eastern arts (Dale, 1993). On the other hand, it influenced by the art of Christian civilization which spread in Egypt between 3^rd and 7^th century AD. From the 7^th century to the 19^th century, the Coptic arts influenced by Islamic arts and vice versa (du Bourguet, 1971). Coptic art is a high-level beautiful art, depending on many kinds of ornaments, which appear in many examples of stones, metalwork, wood, ivory, writings (manuscripts), pottery, glass, icons, cloths, textile, as well as architecture; much of them survives in monasteries and churches (Sibley, 1981; Volbach, 1969; Wessel, 1965). The Coptic Museum in ancient Cairo has some of the world's most important examples of Coptic arts.