DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49517#0190
CHAPTER XXV
FAIENCE
Pls. 45, 46, 47, 48
I have never seen a site where there was so much broken faience littering the surface as at
Kerma. Every traveller has been struck by that fact; for the bright bits of blue against the
grey desert catch and hold the eye. Under the surface also during the excavations, great
numbers of faience fragments were found in the debris in and about the three buildings,
K I, K II, and K XI, and in the disturbed filling of the great tumuli, K III, K IV, K X,
K XVI, K XVIII, and K XIX. Along with the pieces of faience, blue-glazed pebbles and
fragments of objects of blue-glazed quartzite also occurred, but less often than the faience.
In the graves, blue-glazed beads and amulets of faience abounded, as they do in Egyptian
graves of the Middle Kingdom, but the number of blue-glazed stone beads far exceeded those
of any Egyptian cemetery in my knowledge. Large quantities of faience fragments, but
not so large as at Kerma, if one may judge by the publications, were found at two reported
temple sites, the temple of Serabit el-Khadem1 and at the Eleventh Dynasty temple of
Der-el-Bahri.2 Both these temples were important shrines of the Middle Kingdom which
had been largely used in the New Kingdom, and many dated pieces of New Kingdom
faience were found at both places. It is only natural therefore that both Professor Petrie
and Professor Naville should date all their faiences to the Eighteenth Dynasty or later.
But it must be remembered that many dated objects and fragments of the Middle King-
dom were also found at each temple, and the inclusion of all the fragments of faience in
the Eighteenth Dynasty group seems hardly to be justifiable. In Researches in Sinai, on
Pl. 147, the nos. 8-17, 19, 20 all show designs familiar to me from Kerma examples. Pro-
fessor Petrie, although he attributes the patterns in question to foreign influences, expresses
the opinion that the vessels were made in Egypt by Egyptian craftsmen. In the Eleventh
Dynasty temple at Der-el-Bahri, a few fragments were found which from the photograph
appear to be identical in ware and pattern with certain Kerma fragments.3 The other frag-
ments have points of resemblance with the Kerma fragments, but are not identical.
The original form of many of the objects from which the fragments of faience had been
broken could not be reconstructed, but probably the classes of objects made in this material
have been nearly all identified. Including the beads and amulets from the graves, the
chief classes were:
1. Tiles and inlays.
2. Vessels.
3. Beads and amulets.
4. Models of boats.
5. Hippopotami and other figures of animals and men.
6. Bracelets.
7. Mace -heads.
8. Earstuds.
1 W. M. F. Petrie, Researches in Sinai, London, 1906, Pl. 147 ff.
2 E. Naville, The Xlth Dynasty temple at Deir-el-Bahari, iii, London, 1913, Pl. XXVI ff.
3 Naville, 1. c., Pl. XXVI, no. 1, bottom row, middle piece, no. 2, all six pieces.
134
FAIENCE
Pls. 45, 46, 47, 48
I have never seen a site where there was so much broken faience littering the surface as at
Kerma. Every traveller has been struck by that fact; for the bright bits of blue against the
grey desert catch and hold the eye. Under the surface also during the excavations, great
numbers of faience fragments were found in the debris in and about the three buildings,
K I, K II, and K XI, and in the disturbed filling of the great tumuli, K III, K IV, K X,
K XVI, K XVIII, and K XIX. Along with the pieces of faience, blue-glazed pebbles and
fragments of objects of blue-glazed quartzite also occurred, but less often than the faience.
In the graves, blue-glazed beads and amulets of faience abounded, as they do in Egyptian
graves of the Middle Kingdom, but the number of blue-glazed stone beads far exceeded those
of any Egyptian cemetery in my knowledge. Large quantities of faience fragments, but
not so large as at Kerma, if one may judge by the publications, were found at two reported
temple sites, the temple of Serabit el-Khadem1 and at the Eleventh Dynasty temple of
Der-el-Bahri.2 Both these temples were important shrines of the Middle Kingdom which
had been largely used in the New Kingdom, and many dated pieces of New Kingdom
faience were found at both places. It is only natural therefore that both Professor Petrie
and Professor Naville should date all their faiences to the Eighteenth Dynasty or later.
But it must be remembered that many dated objects and fragments of the Middle King-
dom were also found at each temple, and the inclusion of all the fragments of faience in
the Eighteenth Dynasty group seems hardly to be justifiable. In Researches in Sinai, on
Pl. 147, the nos. 8-17, 19, 20 all show designs familiar to me from Kerma examples. Pro-
fessor Petrie, although he attributes the patterns in question to foreign influences, expresses
the opinion that the vessels were made in Egypt by Egyptian craftsmen. In the Eleventh
Dynasty temple at Der-el-Bahri, a few fragments were found which from the photograph
appear to be identical in ware and pattern with certain Kerma fragments.3 The other frag-
ments have points of resemblance with the Kerma fragments, but are not identical.
The original form of many of the objects from which the fragments of faience had been
broken could not be reconstructed, but probably the classes of objects made in this material
have been nearly all identified. Including the beads and amulets from the graves, the
chief classes were:
1. Tiles and inlays.
2. Vessels.
3. Beads and amulets.
4. Models of boats.
5. Hippopotami and other figures of animals and men.
6. Bracelets.
7. Mace -heads.
8. Earstuds.
1 W. M. F. Petrie, Researches in Sinai, London, 1906, Pl. 147 ff.
2 E. Naville, The Xlth Dynasty temple at Deir-el-Bahari, iii, London, 1913, Pl. XXVI ff.
3 Naville, 1. c., Pl. XXVI, no. 1, bottom row, middle piece, no. 2, all six pieces.
134