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. Faience glimmers in the light and was believed by the Egyptians to represent rebirth and immortality. The colours had different symbolisms for example, blue was thought to reflect fertility and life. However, faience was not just manufactured into amulets and jewellery, the substance was used to create scarabs, furniture and cups.
Amulets such as this were popular during the Amarna period. Featuring two suspensions loops, the amulet would have been used as part of a broad collar necklace. Such amulets were made in moulds, as attested to by the large amounts of mould cases excavated at Amarna, suggesting this was an area of production.
To find out more about Ancient Egyptian amulets please see our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings.