9.24 Faience

From the earliest times Egypt produced “faience”, where the glazing mixture could be found naturally, whereas the other practitioners in Crete and Mesopotamia had to prepare it from separate ingredients. Although there is disagreement concerning the origins of faience, some also wanting to link it with metal smelting in the Balkan Region, Egypt has a very good claim. They also produced glazed soapstone, using the same faience glaze, and the earliest examples were found as typically green coloured strung beads in necklaces and belts in the Badarian period (around 4,500 BC). A cylinder of glazed soapstone in the Louvre bears the name of Khafra, ruler 2,558 to 2,532 BC and builder of the second Giza pyramid. The British Museum has three, with the names of kings and a queen from around 2,000BC and another of similar date found at Thebes is coloured pale green, darker where inscribed with the cartouche of Amenemhet III.

The highest skilled workers were used to make and decorate these small faience articles, and as their expertise developed, larger objects were possible such as “pilgrim bottles” or “pilgrim flasks” having a flattened oval shape with small neck and two handles for string to pass through. In addition to seal rings and jewellery, both forms became used for elegant cups, bowls, vases, palettes and models of animals (snakes and rams heads).

Faience beads and necklace UC17248
and 31716  - Copyright of the Petrie
Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL

Faience vase and cup UC33511 and 18758 -
Copyright of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology, UCL

Ptolemaic, part of faience palette with
depression for pigment UC55297 - Copyright
of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology, UCL