Green Faience

Egyptian faience is a non-clay based ceramic composed of crushed quartz or sand glazed with materials that chemically form the colour when the piece is heated, it was a technique that persisted in Ancient Egypt for four millennia. Faience was very widely used for small objects from beads to small statues. It was the most common material for scarabs and other forms of amulet and ushabti figures which were placed in the tombs of the dead, faience was also used in most forms of ancient Egyptian jewellery. Larger applications included cups and bowls, and wall tiles, mostly used for temples. The earliest use was green faience and was used to imitate precious stones. Early techniques are characterised by uneven glaze coverage and flow lines which are sometimes considered favourably.