Naturally occurring
pattern always fascinates me, especially when there’s a good art history story
behind it. I present you with three ancient Egyptian vessels, all with
different, random patterns, and all in different materials. I’m totally in love
this week with the first dish of mosaic glass.
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Ancient Egypt, Dish, ca. 1390–1353 BCE. Mosaic glass, width: 4 1/8" (10.5 cm). ©
Brooklyn Museum. (BMA-5261) |
In Egypt, the first known glass as a component of faience
ware, dates from as far back as the Neolithic Badarian culture at the turn of
the 4000s and 3000s BCE. The first true glass ware, dating to the 1400s BCE,
were actually this type of mosaic glass. Mosaic glass ware is made by fusing pieces
of different colored glass. Egyptian vessels were produced by placing pieces of
glass of various colors softened by heat—often the remains of broken vessels in
the workshop—around a core of sand and cow dung. After glass blowing later
became a common way to make glass during the first 100 years BCE along the
Syro-Palestinian coast, mosaic glass was made by decorating the surface of hot,
blown glass with chips of colored glass and then reheating it and reblowing it.
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Ancient Egypt, Jar, ca. 3600-3100 BCE. Breccia, 5 1/2" x 7 5/16"
(14 x 18.5 cm). © Brooklyn Museum (BMA-3470) |
This vessel dates from the Badarian period. What is to
thought-provoking about it is the perfection of form, and the aesthetic
considerations for how the random fragments of rock complement the shape. I
will admit that I did not know what breccia was before cataloging this vessel.
I filed it under “Sculpture” as the art form because it does not really meet
the criteria of “Ceramics.” Breccia is rock composed of sharp angled fragments
embedded in a fine-grained matrix of sand or soil that has formed over time
from erosion, impact, or volcanic activity.
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Ancient Egypt, Funerary
vessel of the Priest Amon Neferher, from
Thebes, ca. 1479–1279 BCE. Painted ceramic, height: 8 1/4" (21 cm). ©
Brooklyn Museum. (BMA-5234) |
“Keeping up with the Joneses” is obviously not an American
invention from the 1950s. Appearances of status obviously mattered even in
ancient Egypt. From the earliest period, Egyptians created funerary vessels
from both ceramic and hard stones such as limestone, granite, alabaster, and
marble. Stone vessels were obviously more durable and preferred by the
Egyptians who were filling their tombs with offerings to last an eternity in
the afterlife. Carved rather than thrown vessels were more expensive. Even
though priests were held in high regard in Egyptian culture, they were
obviously not wealthy like the members of the pharaoh’s court. Although this
priest Neferher could not afford stone vessels for his burial, he wanted to
give the illusion that he was well-off by having the vessels painted to
resemble stone.
Correlations to Davis
Programs: Explorations in Art Grade 3:
6.35, 3.Studio35-36; A Community Connection: 2.6, 5.2; A Personal Journey: 3.1,
3.4; A Global Pursuit: 1.4; Beginning Sculpture: 5; Experience Clay: 4, 5;
Exploring Visual Design: 11; The Visual Experience: 10.2, 10.9, 10.6, 15.3;
Discovering Art History: 2.2, 5.3
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