Fragments of a faience bowl

Egypt, possibly New Kingdom, 1150–1070 BCE
MS HT 110

Faience is a glazed ceramic material made from a mixture of crushed quartz and other minerals, which, after it is fired, gives a glassy appearance. It is used to manufacture cups and bowls or small objects such as scarabs, amulets, shabti figures, jewellery and wall tiles. Manufactured in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, objects have a bright lustre of various colours, with blue-green being the most usual. Faience objects were very common in ancient Egypt from Predynastic times onwards and flourished, with improvements to the technology, until Graeco-Roman times. These fragments of a faience bowl were discovered with the papers of the Egyptologist Sir Herbert Thompson (1859–1944). A note states that they originate from Kosseir in Egypt.

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