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Faience, which dates back to pre-dynastic times,
of 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.
The profile of this faience jar belongs to a
tradition which is first attested during the so-
called Third Phase of the Late Dynastic Period.
As such it represents a variation of the type and
is characterized by horizontal bands of rills
which some have suggested are in imitation of
metal prototypes. These examples are generally
dated to the Ptolemaic Period. The ostensible
dependency of our faience example on these
pottery vessels suggests that it, too, should be
assigned to the Ptolemaic Period. Complete
parallels in faience are, however, very rare,
although sherds dated to that period may be
compared to the ornamentation of our vessel in
general. Such ornamentation continues into the
Roman Imperial Period. One can, therefore,
suggest that our vase is a very rare example of a
faience jar created during the Ptolemaic Period
which consciously evokes contemporary vases in
metal. The literary tradition documents the
opulence of such deluxe metal vessels, often
created in gold and silver, which graced the court
of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt and so
impressed Julius Caesar when he first
encountered the legendary Cleopatra VII. Our
example is evocative of such creations, but these
have not, unfortunately, survived.
References:
For the types, see, Peter French, “A Preliminary
Study of Pottery in Lower Egypt in the Late
Dynastic and Ptolemaic Periods,” in Pascal Ballet
[editor], Cahiers de la céramique égyptienne.
Ateliers de potiers et productions céramiques en
Egypte (Cairo 1992), pages 89-92; for the
association of such rilled-decoration with metal
prototypes, see, Dorothea Arnold, Techniques
and Traditions of Manufacture in the Pottery of
Ancient Egypt. Fascicle 1 (Mainz 1993), pages
82-83, with figure 96C; and for the parallels in
the form of sherds, see, London, University
College UC45363 (not published) and UC 47498:
W.M. Flinders Petrie, Historical Studies I (London
1911), pages 34-38.
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