Faience
A type of glazed ceramic made from crushed quartz, often blue or green, used in ancient Egypt.
What is it?
Faience is a non-clay ceramic material made from crushed quartz or sand, mixed with a binder, and fired to create a hard, shiny surface. It is often colored blue or green with copper. Ancient Egyptians used faience to make jewelry, amulets, shabti figurines, and small vessels. The shabti figurines you saw may be made of faience, as they are painted blue or green. Faience was valued for its bright color and resemblance to precious stones like turquoise.
Why it matters
Faience was a popular material in ancient Egypt because it was cheap to produce but looked like precious stones. It shows the Egyptians' skill in making beautiful objects from simple materials.
Where you've seen it
This list grows as you capture more exhibits made of faience.