Faience is a glazed ceramic known for producing bright colours, especially blues, turquoises and greens. It is produced from quartz or sand crystals mixed with other compounds and can be cast into moulds to create beads or amulets like these ones. Yellow, such as these beautiful examples, was produced by adding the compound lead antimonite. Faience glimmers in the light and was believed by the Egyptians to represent rebirth and immortality. However, faience was not just manufactured into amulets and jewellery, the substance was used to create scarabs, furniture and cups.
To find out more about Ancient Egyptian amulets please see our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings.