Coptic art has attracted the attention of a growing number of scholars especially in the last four decades. There have been some variations in the definition of Coptic art, its period and the date when it started. It has never been denied that it was a distinctive style of art.

In 1902 Gayet defined Coptic art in his book L’Art Copt as a local phenomenon transformed by Roman, Greek and Byzantine styles. From this point of view there were Egyptian themes wrapped in Greek forms that referred to Christian art.

Aziz Suryan Attia defined Coptic as the distinctive are of Egypt. It was influenced by two main sources. These were the Egyptian ancient art and the Hellenistic classical art. As for the Egyptian influence it appeared clearly in the use of some symbols such as the Ankh symbol which was used as a symbol of the cross. Some other symbols for example were also used as the Holy Spirit in the early churches shown descending in the form of a bird just like the ba. The Hellenistic influence appeared in the stone carvings with different myth such as “Leda and the Swan”, Hercules, Aphrodite and others. He suggested that there is no definite way to find out the exact period of time in which Coptic art in Egypt was no longer influenced by Greek and Ancient Egyptian themes and motifs.

One of the most resent definitions of Coptic art was mentioned in September 2000 during the Coptic art exhibition at the Arab World Institute in Paris. It was held to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity in Egypt. Coptic art was defined as follows: It is a folkloric art not a state sponsored art as in pharonic times. This exhibition reveled the importance of Coptic art in the history of Egypt as a style of art which lasted for hundreds of years.