Faience spacer for necklace with images of a
king and gods
Possibly from Tuna el-Gebel,
Egypt
Third Intermediate Period, 9th-8th
century BC
A remarkable example of the
faience-maker's craft
This delicate object is a remarkable example of
the
faience-maker's
craft. As well as being decorative, spacer beads served a practical
function. They were strung at intervals in necklaces and other
complex jewellery to prevent the strings from sagging and tangling.
As with most objects in ancient Egypt, the opportunity was taken to
decorate these practical
objects.
The two main faces
of the bead show scenes of a king and gods; on one face
Horus
and
Thoth
flank an unnamed king and pour life-giving water over him, while on
the other side a falcon-headed solar deity holds a bound prisoner
while four other deities assist in the scene. It is thought that
the whole scene may be associated with the theme of the royal
coronation and the New Year festival, as an image of the
reassertion of royal power in association with the
gods.
This piece is made
from a number of pieces of
faience
that were carved out and then joined when dry, but before firing.
Some sort of internal support, perhaps of wood, was probably used
to prevent the material shifting during
firing.
F.D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile: ancient Egy (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)
