Records of inscriptions from the ancient Eastern Mediterranean show that the Phoenicians were famous for their crafts and artistic work in metal, ivory, glass, terra cotta, wood and stone in addition to weaving and dyeing purple wool and fabrics. However, they were not given fare recognition by critics because Phoenician art borrowed from the mix of civilizations they interacted with through their trade.

Phoenician artisans were more concerned with what the object looked like rather than its strict stylistic orthodoxy. Phoenician art served many purposes which include religious, trade or others but was meant to appeal to a visual impact and communicate ideas.

Phoenician objet d'art that we find today is comprised of rather small objects. Most are made of gold, ivory, semiprecious stones, silver, glass, bronze and terra cotta. Also, large stone objects survive. Less durable items such as carved wood and fabric are almost very rare or not to be found at all.

Most of what survives, as in many other civilizations, pertains to burial or funerary context. Grave supplies include jewelry, scarabs, amulets, terra cotta, amulets, metal bowls, ivory boxes, cosmetic items, and possessions that denote rank and status and last but not least stone sarcophagi (Moscati 1988: 292-99, 328-53, 370-93,394-403).

Phoenician art is found both in temples and in tombs. However, this should not be taken to mean that there art was created for the dead or to the worship of gods. A lot still remains to be discovered even when most of what has surfaced comes from the latter which often is the repository of art that might not have survived.

Phoenician trade was instrumental in the expanse to which Phoenician art had reached. Around 1000 BC, Phoenician goods were to be found around the far corners of the Mediterranean and influenced the cultures of these areas such as the Greeks, Etruscans, North Africans and Iberians just as much as the Assyrians and the other Semites.

Very few archaeological sites in Phoenicia, the motherland, were adequately excavated with the exception of Sarepta (Pritchard 1978). Therefore known Phoenician art come from the diaspora of Phoenician colonies and trading posts. It is found in quantity at well excavated Phoenician sites in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and Tunisia. These artifacts, most dating to the seventh through second centuries BC., though they differ from those made by eastern Phoenicians, which date mainly from the ninth to eighth centuries BC. Further, Phoenician art is often conservative in nature and the same motifs are reproduced in similar ways for centuries.

Eclecticism is the identifying hallmark of Phoenician art. Its unusual combinations and modifications of motifs and designs borrowed from a variety of foreign styles and designs The eclectic Phoenician usage is unique because other cultures and traditions would not use or depict a motif out of context of a certain religion as did the Phoenician.

Phoenician artists often used elements of Egyptian, Assyrian, or Greek in their designs. This carried over to color selection and combination. Phoenician artists sometimes imitated specific foreign styles rather than modifying them. This makes it difficult to recognize which is copied Phoenician and which is authentic. Cultures of the region borrowed from various sources outside their own and the Phoenicians did so more