Faience, which dates back to predynastic times,
at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike non-clay
substance made of materials common to Egypt:
ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles, flint, a
soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and ground
copper, which provided the characteristic color.
The dried objects went into kilns looking pale
and colorless but emerged a sparkling "Egyptian
blue." Called tjehnet by the Ancient Egyptians,
meaning that which is brilliant or scintillating,
faience was thought to be filled with the undying
light of the sun, moon and stars and was
symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians believed
the small blue-green objects helped prepare
them for eternity in the afterlife.
This faience bowl and others like it are
sometimes referred to as “marsh bowls” by
scholars. This name is derived from the
decorative imagery that typically features
marshland motifs. It is believed that marsh
bowls served as votives offerings and were not
used as tableware as is sometimes suggested.
Fragments of similar bowls have been found at
temples and shrines dedicated to the goddess
Hathor, suggesting a link between these works
and the deity. The aquatic imagery painted onto
the insides of the bowls also alludes to fertility
and rebirth while other motifs employed relate to
the goddess more directly, such as sistra, masks,
and overt representations of the goddess in her
cow form. Less frequently, marsh bowls have
been found entombed alongside the remains of
the deceased as funerary offerings. In the burial
context, the fertility imagery seems to suggest
the concept of rebirth in the afterlife. The tombs
in which such bowls have been excavated are
non-royal and mostly female, furthering the link
between Hathor and these works. Although
nearly every bowl has been discovered empty, a
few contained remnants of milky substances,
suggesting they once held votive offerings to the
goddess Hathor.
This bowl has been decorated with the image of
a fish surrounded by three lotus buds, expertly
rendered in manganese that, after firing, appears
as black pigment against the bluish green hue of
the faience. The fish appears to be the tilapia
fish (Tilapia nilotica) that often appears on such
bowls. This fish was a symbol of eternal life.
The tilapia guards its young in its mouth, and
this fact seems to have been misinterpreted by
the Ancient Egyptians as an example of
spontaneous regeneration. Furthermore, the
Egyptians also believed that the lotus flower,
which closes and opens during the diurnal cycle
of night and day, was a symbol of the renewal of
life. By placing such a work inside the tomb, the
Ancient Egyptians hoped to ensure that the
deceased would be reborn in the next world to
thrive for all eternity.
- (X.0334)
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