Egyptian faience ushabti of Lady Sati. New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII, reign of Amenhotep III, c. 1390–1352 BC. Possibly from Saqqara.Tile frieze with lotus and grapes
Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process "covered [the material] with a true vitreous coating" as the quartz underwent vitrification, creating a bright lustre of various colours "usually in a transparent blue or green isotropic glass". Its name in the Ancient Egyptian language was tjehenet,[1] and modern archeological terms for it include sintered quartz, glazed frit, and glazed composition.[2]Tjehenet is distinct from the crystalline pigment Egyptian blue,[3] for which it has sometimes incorrectly been used as a synonym.[2]
It is not faience in the usual sense of tin-glazed pottery, and is different from the enormous range of clay-based Ancient Egyptian pottery, from which utilitarian vessels were made. It is similar to later Islamic stonepaste (or "fritware") from the Middle East, although that generally includes more clay.[2]
Egyptian faience is considerably more porous than glass proper. It can be cast in molds to create small vessels, jewelry and decorative objects.[3] Although it contains the major constituents of glass (silica, lime) and no clay until late periods, Egyptian faience is frequently discussed in surveys of ancient pottery, as in stylistic and art-historical terms, objects made of it are closer to pottery styles than ancient Egyptian glass.
Faience vessel with procession of four bulls, c. 775–653 BCE Brooklyn Museum
Egyptian faience was very widely used for small objects, from beads to small statues, and is found in both elite and popular contexts. It was the most common material for scarabs and other forms of amulet and ushabti figures, and it was used in most forms of ancient Egyptian jewellery, as the glaze made it smooth against the skin. Larger applications included dishware, such as cups and bowls, and wall tiles, which were mostly used for temples.[4] The well-known blue hippopotamus figurines, placed in the tombs of officials, can be up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long,[5] approaching the maximum practical size for Egyptian faience, though the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a 215.9-centimetre (85.0 in) sceptre, dated 1427–1400 BC.[6]
^Wilkinson, Toby (2008). Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-500-20396-5.
^ abc"glazed composition". The British Museum. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
^ abGrose, David Frederick (1999). The Toledo Museum of Art, Early Ancient Glass: Core-Formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 BC to AD 50. Manchester: Hudson Hills Press. p. 29.
^Peck, William H. (2013). The Material World of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-27638-3.
^Louvre: Hippopotamus figurine, Department of Egyptian Antiquities: From the late prehistoric period to the late Middle Kingdom (circa 3800 - 1710 BC)
^"Sceptre | V&A Search the Collections". Collections.vam.ac.uk. 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
Egyptianfaience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process "covered [the material] with a true vitreous coating"...
as faience, but the distinction is not usually maintained. Semi-vitreous stoneware may be glazed like faience. Egyptianfaience is not really faience, or...
"William", also known as "William the Hippo", is an Egyptianfaience hippopotamus statuette from the Middle Kingdom, now in the collection of the Metropolitan...
spanning from Prehistoric Egypt until the Christianization of Roman Egypt. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories,...
a total of US$ 1.67 billion. Egyptian blue – Pigment used in ancient EgyptEgyptianfaience – Type of Ancient Egyptian sintered-quartz ceramic Islamic...
production site. Egyptian blue is closely related to the other vitreous materials produced by the ancient Egyptians, namely glass and Egyptianfaience, and it...
boats, Egyptianfaience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites. Ancient Egypt has left...
found in several Egyptian words, including the terms for "mirror", "floral bouquet", and "life". The symbol often appeared in Egyptian art as a physical...
Kingdom, sometimes used Egyptian iconography as it had been used previously, and sometimes adapted it. For example, the faience sistrum inscribed with...
china painting, blue and white pottery, tin-glazed pottery, maiolica, Egyptianfaience, Delftware. In modern times a wider range of underglaze colours are...
the god Bes, blue Egyptianfaience, between 1540 and 1076 BC, New Kingdom. Museo Egizio, Turin. Amulet of Bes; 1070–712 BC; faience; height: 3.7 cm; Metropolitan...
ancient Egypt Amarna art Ancient Egyptian pottery Egyptianfaience Funerary art in Ancient Egypt Painting in Ancient Egypt Portraiture in Ancient Egypt Sculpture...
most common material for such amulets was a kind of ceramic known as Egyptianfaience or tjehenet, but amulets were also made of stone, metal, bone, wood...
The Gayer-Anderson cat; British Museum Blue Egyptianfaience cat figurine dated to 1981−1802 BC Ancient Egypt portal Cats portal Islam and cats Cultural...
lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in what is now Afghanistan), and Egyptianfaience were used ornamentally, and the cosmetic palettes used for eye paint...
terracotta, metal, glass and, most frequently, glazed earthenware (Egyptianfaience). While ushabtis manufactured for the rich were often miniature works...
Ancient Egyptian clothes refers to clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic period (prior to 3100 BC) to the collapse of the Ptolemaic...
ingredient for making a distinct color called Egyptian blue, and also as the flux in Egyptianfaience. It was used along with sand and lime in ceramic...
Multiple examples of monochrome artworks throughout history: an Ancient Egyptianfaience statuette of Isis and Horus, 332–30 BC; a gold Tairona pendant, 10th–16th...
at Gash Group sites, many Egyptian pottery vessels and Egyptianfaience beads were found, indicating close contacts with Egypt. Found Red Sea shells demonstrate...
Egyptian religious and funerary art. Excavations of ancient Egyptian sites have yielded images of the scarab in bone, ivory, stone, Egyptianfaience,...
Khepri (Egyptian: ḫprj, also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising...
Ancient Egyptian History Archived 14 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine: from This Is Egypt | Information about Ancient Egyptian History Ancient Egyptian History...
The Ramesses III prisoner tiles are a collection of Egyptianfaience depicting prisoners of war, found in Ramesses III's palaces at Medinet Habu (adjacent...
favored in Egyptian art for the previous 1700 years. After Akhenaton's death, however, Egyptian artists reverted to their old styles. Faience that was produced...
trade with Egypt has been found by archaeologists—fine Egyptianfaience cups are an example. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt or through...
Global Information
