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Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate to Late Dynastic Period, 21st to 31st Dynasty, ca. 1070 to 332 BCE. A wonderful selection of faience beads covered in layers of blue and blue-green glaze. First is a standing effigy of Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing, mathematics, and other intellectual pursuits. Next are two perfume vials with piriform bodies. A petite lion lays recumbent atop a plinth with a pierced loop on its back. Three rectangular beads and one ovoid bead have slender suspension holes and tapered lateral edge, and another five beads bear serrated peripheries. Also included are a fused triple bead, a wide bead with an incised ‘X,’ and a discoid bead. Last are a pair of wadjet (also wedjat, Eye of Horus) detailed with blue-green glaze. Size of largest (Thoth amulet): 0.9″ H (2.3 cm)
Faience was known to the ancient Egyptians as “tjehnet,” meaning brilliant or dazzling. It was made by grinding quartz or sand crystals together with various elements including copper oxide which gave the material its distinctive blue-green glaze color when fired. During the New Kingdom Period (ca. 1550 to 1070 BCE), new developments in glass production crossed over into faience craftsmanship and enabled a wider array of colors and shapes when forming compositions. Petite amulets and beads like these examples were perhaps buried with mummies or carried by individuals as apotropaic charms and symbols of increased luck.
Condition: Thoth amulet repaired from two pieces with light adhesive residue along break lines; remaining pieces are intact and very good. All pieces have minor nicks to peripheries and softening to some finer details. Great preservation of glaze pigment throughout.
Provenance: ex-Phoenicia Holyland Antiquities, New York, New York, USA, acquired 1990s to 2000s; ex-private M. Goodstein collection, New York, New York, USA, acquired in the 1990s
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