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Conserving the Past for the Future

A Conservation Tour

Faience and Frits: Understanding Materials and Techniques in Ancient Egypt


Faience Technology

Faience cannot be worked like clay by stretching, pulling, or throwing. Instead it is worked in much the same way as sand sculptures at the beach.

The particle size of the ingredients and the amount of water in the paste are critical. Too much water or an overly fine powder makes the faience paste runny or sticky; too little water or too coarse a powder and it cracks and crumbles.

Varying the amount of the ingredients or the particle size improves the workability and the final product. Subtle adjustments to the basic recipe-such as variations in grain size, moisture content of the paste, the use of specific additives such as frit, clay, or burnt lime-and the formation of more glass during firing, enabled the Egyptians to create a wide range of objects. Varying the methods of glazing, sometimes within a single object, produced an extraordinary range of surface effects.
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The Shawabty of Nectanebo II

The faience Shawabty of Nectanebo II was made by a combination of molding and extensive tooling. It was glazed with a pale turquoise, satin gloss glaze (colored by copper).

The surface was finely carved after the paste was removed from the mold to sharpen sculptural and linear details and to create recessed areas such as the hieroglyphic inscription. Rounded depressions probably were impressed in the paste when it was still damp.

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The paste is off-white in color, and is fine, granular, soft, and dense. Analysis indicates it contains more calcium than most faience. The calcium was probably added in the form of lime to make a stronger, more carvable paste before firing. The turquoise glaze was probably applied. Firing marks are visible along the back pillar, suggesting that the shawabty rested in a granular material during firing.




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