The Art of Ancient Egypt | Publications for Educators | Explore & Learn

Faience

The Egyptian word for the material Egyptologists call faience means "brilliant," and indeed the surface of the fired faience objects is usually brillant in color, most often blue or green, and shiny. Faience was generally made from ground desert sand to which a natron and water were added, plus a colorant, most often copper. Firing this paste produced the typical porous, whitish or grayish core and the colored surface glaze of Egyptian faience.

Faience beads are small and amulets are known from the Predynastic Period. These objects were either modeled or in the case of beads formed around a core material. The large number of existing tiles suggests that some sort of molding method had been developed by the Old Kingdom. It is not untill late Dynasty XVIII, however, that molding of faience became the most common method of production. Ancient Egyptians used molds to produce large quantities of jewelry elements, amulets, and shabtis.

Wah's jewelry
Objects made of faience were often molded; they could also be modeled. Wah's collar necklace, consisting of many turquoise faience beads created in molds, must have been created specifically for his burial, since the ties are not strong enough to hold it on for daily use.

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