Coptic art, the distinctive Christian art of Egypt, includes works of a
diverse character because there was no separation between ``art'' and
``craft'' in the early Christian era; the capital of a column or an
illustrated manuscript were as much forms of creative expression as paintings
and sculpture. From burial grounds, there are objects like funerary stelae,
or tombstones, cartonnage sarcophagi and fragments of woven textiles from
clothing in which the deceased were laid to rest. Monastic centers, churches
and shrines provide stone and wood-carvings, metalwork, wall and
panel-paintings, as well as a wealth of utilitarian objects like ivory combs,
wooden seals for impressing sacred bread, pottery and glassware.

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