Faience – An Ancient Craft

Lotiform Cup, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, ca. 945–715 BCIn Ancient Egypt, the colour blue symbolised the Nile, the waters of heaven and the home of the gods; green evoked the ideas of regeneration, rebirth and, more literally, represented vegetation.

The two colours were utilised in jewellery, in the form of turquoise and lapis lazuli, stones rare and precious in the ancient world. They were also expensive to come by. From about 3500 BC, a material called faience – perhaps expressly invented for the purpose – became a less costly substitute. The Egyptians used faience to create amulets, beads, rings, scarabs, shabti, small dishes and other decorative objects.

A necklace composed from various faience beads and amulets, late 2nd and 1st Millennium BCFaience is a non-clay ceramic with a glossy, vitrified surface. Made from fine-ground quartz or sand mixed with additives, it is glazed using various methods, and finally fired. Initially, copper was added to achieve a turquoise colour, and manganese for black. Around 1500 BC – at the beginning of glass production – additional colours were created using cobalt for blue, manganese for purple, and yellow from lead antimonate. It was not an easy substance to work with, softening during construction, and so moulds were often used. Beads, for instance, were made as solid forms, holes being drilled after firing.

The unique look of faience, the limited colour palette imposed by the technology of the time, and not least the delicate intricacy of the designs, are what give Ancient Egyptian jewellery its distinctive appearance. Today faience jewellery is precious in its own right.

Detail of a necklace composed from various faience beads and amulets, late 2nd and 1st Millennium BC