Informal book review - Egyptian Faience and Glass

I brought a number of Shire Publications books away with me. They can be read in a couple of hours (they average about 64 pages long), are written by some excellent authors and stuff a lot of useful information into a digestible package. Most of them are still in print, others possibly discontinued but online stores like Amazon offer second hand alternatives.

I made some notes about the books as I read them so I thought I'd post those notes here to tide things over until the weekend when I'm back on broadband.

Someone should write a sonnet or ode to broadband.

The first one is Paul T. Nicholson's highly enjoyable book on faience and glass.

Paul T Nicholson
Egyptian Faience and Glass
Shire Egyptology
1993

9780747801955


Contents

Part 1, Faience
1 – The Material
2 – Predynastic
3 – Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period
4 – Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
5 – New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
6 – The Late Period and After
Part 2, Glass
7 – The Material and its Technology
8 – The Earliest Glass in Egypt
9 – The New Kingdom
10 – The Third Intermediate and Late Periods
11 – The Graeco-Roman Period
12 – Glossary
13 – Further Reading
14 – Museums

The book is divided into three parts – Faience, Glass and reference material. Faience and Glass each take up around 32 pages. The book has 80 pages which is longer than the usual 64 pages of Shire Egyptology books..

Part 1, Faience

1 – Material
The first chapter very helpfully defines Egyptian Faience, explaining the origins of the term and the reasons why there has been confusion in the past about what faience is. Nicholson describes faience as “an artificial precious stone” and explains the composition of the non-clay ceramic, and the methods of manufacture.

2 - Predynastic
Nicholson looks briefly at the origins of faience production in Egypt in the pre-Pharaonic period, mentioning the relationship between glazed steatite and faience beads, and describing the variation of composition, manufacturing and glazing of faience at this time.

3 – Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period
The development of modelling techniques and the diversification of items made from faience are described – from animal figurines at Hierakonpolis to 36,000 turquoise coloured tiles at the Saqqara Step Pyramid of Djoser. Examples from Abusir included inscriptions and representations in white paste and gold leaf.

4 – Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
Faience became popular during the Middle Kingdom, with techniques that made objects more durable. Many were found in funerary contexts. Animal figurines, such as the hedgehogs from Beni Hasan, female figurines, scarabs, and food offerings were all popular subject matters. Vessels were made and a new style of vessel was added in the Second Intermediate period. Production also flourished in Nubia at this time.

5 – New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
This is the richest period of faience production, with thousands of examples known. Both large scale and small scale workshops produced faience. Nicholson describes the moulds that were made and explains how they were used before explaining new techniques, including the addition of glass to faience. The range of items made increases with more varied types of decorative, ornamental and architectural items produced. Nicholson describes these types and picks out some specific examples. From the Nineteenth Dynasty faience was exported to various Mediterranean locations and by the Third Intermediate the techniques required to manufacture faience had also found their way beyond Egypt. A particular product of the Third Intermediate was the ushabti.

6 – The Late Period and After
Under the Saites of the 26th Dynasty faience was better quality and new developments were introduced. Shades of green and black were favoured. Shabti figures continued to be mass produced. Much of the faience produced at this time was exported. Nicholson explains the workings of the Roman faience kilns found at Memphis.


Part 2, Glass

7 – The Material and its Technology
Nicholson starts off with a description of the composition of glass, and where the components were obtained. He then goes on to discuss the two-stage process of glass making, a complex process particularly given requirements for both clear and coloured glass.

8 – The Earliest Glass in Egypt
The earliest glass manufactured in Egypt dates to the New Kingdom but it was imported and used before this time and Nicholson discusses some of these imports.

9 – The New Kingdom
The longest chapter in the Glass section looks at how glass emerged fully fledged during the reign of Tuthmosis III when it may have been introduced from abroad. Glass workshops have been found at a number of locations in Egypt and the information supplied from these sites is discussed. Nicholson next explains how delicate glass vessels were built around organic cores and gives some examples of core formed vessel types and their decorative motifs. He then describes mould-made vessels and the difficult technique of cold-cutting where glass is worked as though it were stone.

10 – The Third Intermediate and Late Periods
Glass production apparently declined after the Twenty First Century but resumed in the Twenty Sixth Dynasty and became plentiful in the Thirtieth. The same techniques were employed but there are some differences in colour, style, decorative techniques and pattern, which are described. Mosaic glass was apparently introduced in the Thirtieth.

11 – Graeco-Roman Period
Alexandria became a focus for glass production, and new approaches to glass production were developed here. Core forming, moulding and cold-cutting are discussed again and new techniques which appear at this time are also described.

These chapters are followed by a map showing the principal sites mentioned, a three page glossary, a recommended reading list and a list of museums that people can visit to see faience and glass on display in a number of countries.

The text is accompanied by black and white photographs and illustrations. Both topics would have benefited considerably by being illustrated with colour photographs, as in more recent Shire publications, so that the beauty of the artistry could be appreciated.

No attempts are made to summarize the two industries or compare them at the end of the book. Each of the two parts is a standalone work. Although Nicholson does not explain why he has put the two together it is clear that there was an overlap in production skills and in some cases both were produced by the same workshops. In addition, glass was sometimes used in the production of faience. On the whole I would rather have seen this divided into two books with more detail allocated to each topic.

Both parts of the book focus on manufacture and technology rather than on design or aesthetics. The explanations are well written and the technical descriptions are easy to understand.

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