Egyptian faience

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.

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.
^ ^a ^b ^c "glazed composition". The British Museum. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b Grose, 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.

[1] Wilkinson, Toby (2008). Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-500-20396-5.

[British_Museum-2] "glazed composition". The British Museum. Retrieved 5 December 2022.

[Grose-1999-3] Grose, 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.

[4] Peck, William H. (2013). The Material World of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-27638-3.

[5] Louvre: Hippopotamus figurine, Department of Egyptian Antiquities: From the late prehistoric period to the late Middle Kingdom (circa 3800 - 1710 BC)

[6] "Sceptre | V&A Search the Collections". Collections.vam.ac.uk. 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-24.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]