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Research concerning transactions in the early first millennium bc in the westernmost Mediterranean has tended to focus on colonial coastlands occupied by scattered Levantine outposts, whereas cross-cultural interactions in hinterland regions have remained ill-defined. This article presents an assemblage of Egyptian vitreous artefacts, namely beads, a Hathor amulet, and further items from the seventh-century bc rural village of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca) in the interior of Spain. Macroscopic and chemical analyses demonstrate their likely manufacture in Egypt during the Middle and New Kingdom (second millennium bc), attesting to a far-reaching Phoenician maritime network that connected both ends of the Mediterranean. The authors interpret the items as liturgical objects, rather than mere high-status trinkets, that formed part of a widely shared Mediterranean world view and associated ritual mores. They consider the impact of cultural syncretism, which reached even remote and allegedly isolated peripheral settings in Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hapax legomenon סֹחֶרֶת (sōḥereth) has eluded identification. Comparison with Ancient Egyptian ṯḥnt “faience, blue chalcedony” is phonologically plausible. “Faience” does indeed match the material evidence of the Susan palace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Glass from Bilsk is chemically close to coeval materials from the Mediterranean. • At least two primary sources of glass were distinguished. • Faience beads feature peculiar composition of the vitreous phase. • Intense exchange of the local population with distant localities confirmed. The Bilsk archaeological complex comprises the remains of many structures associated with an impressive Iron Age fortified site and extends over a vast area in central-east Ukraine. Its importance is marked by the presence of apparently imported objects, including some vitreous ones (represented mainly by glass and faience beads), which provide researchers with materials for studying past trade in the area. A representative set of vitreous fragments was subjected to an analytical study with several instrumental techniques (namely: scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, micro-Raman spectroscopy and micro-X-ray diffraction) in order to characterise the beads on compositional basis. The complementary data from different techniques revealed a complex picture for the raw materials, identifying several sources of silica and, consequently, several production centres for the items included in the analysed set. This information in turn led to a better understanding of the trade networks that operated in the region between the 7th and 4th century BCE. Colouring and opacifying agents are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTThis article presents a novel approach to classifying archaeological artefacts using machine learning, specifically deep learning, rather than relying on traditional, time-consuming human-based methods. By employing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), this approach aims to expedite and enhance the identification process, making it more accessible to a wider audience. The study focuses on two types of artefacts- Roman Lusitanian amphorae (2nd-5th centuries) and Portuguese faience (16th-18th centuries)- chosen for their diversity. While Lusitanian amphorae lack decoration, Portuguese faience poses challenges with subtle colour variations. The study demonstrates the potential of this approach to overcome these hurdles. The paper outlines the methodology, dataset creation, and model training, emphasizing the importance of extensive data and computational resources. The ultimate objective of this research is to develop a mobile application that utilizes image classification techniques to accurately classify ceramic sherds and bring about a significant transformation in archaeological classification.

The aim of the present work was to study and identify the causes and sources of defects in the glazes and decorations of archaeological ceramics containing a calcium component. As part of systematic archaeological research in the Hradcany area, several reconstructable objects and some fragmentary sherds of archaeological ceramics with a relatively high calcium content were found. Seven objects of faience were rescued from the waste pits on the premises of the third courtyard of the Prague Castle, a flower pot was found in Lumbe garden, and creamware sherds were excavated from a waste pit between the Salm and Schwarzenberg palaces on Hradcany Square. The first step of the research was the evaluation of ceramic bodies, glazes, and decorations using archaeometric methods. Subsequently, dilatometric measurements of ceramic bodies and stress state calculations of ceramic body-glaze, or glaze-decor systems were used to identify the sources of defects observed on archaeological finds. Both primary and secondary defects were identified in all studied finds. Among the primary defects, pinholes and blisters predominated. As secondary defects, crazing, blackening, corrosion, delayed peeling, and mechanical abrasion were recognised. Thanks to the combination of X-ray and optical methods, together with the determination of the stress states of the two- and three-component systems, causes of secondary defects were described. The main source of these defects were calcium residues causing volume changes in the ceramic bodies.

Copyright of Arkeoloji Dergisi is the property of Ege University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of TUBA-KED: Turkish Academy of Sciences, Journal of Cultural Inventory is the property of Turkish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of West Asian Archaeology / Nishiajia Kōkogaku is the property of Japanese Society for West Asian Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bulletin of the Center Papyrological Studies (BCPS) is the property of Ain Shams University, Faculty of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents the results of chemical analysis using SEM-EDS on 136 vitreous bead and vessel samples found at Faras and Qasr Ibrim (Lower Nubia), and Gabati and Meroe (Upper Nubia) in Sudan dating to the Meroitic (c. 350 BC–AD 350) and Early Nobadian (c. AD 350–600) periods. The results revealed a great variety of chemical groups and types, indicating the presence of glass from multiple origins. Many of these glass samples match the known Mediterranean glass groups to suggest a potential provenance for some of the glasses. However, a number of samples from Gabati did not fit within these groups and the presence of glassy faience at Qasr Ibrim may highlight further nuances of vitreous material production and the potential for more locally based practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Ar] اكتشاف تابوت الملك زوسر وترميم الهرم المدرج يعد هرم الملك نتري خت المدرج والمعروف أيضًا باسم زوسر، أقدم بناء حجري ضخم في مصر. ولكن تعرضت واجهات الهرم للكثير من الأضرار الجسيمة. علاوة على ذلك، أدت أعمال الترميم السابقة للواجهة الجنوبية إلى تدمير بعض جوانب التصميم الأصلي للهرم. وقد تم تشكيل فريق ترميم برئاسة زاهي حواس بداية من عام ٢٠٠٦ للعمل على ترميم الهرم وإزالة الأتربة والرمل المتراكم الذي يغطي الكتل، حيث تمكن الفريق من جمع كل الكتل التي كانت مفكوكة تحت الرمال ومعالجتها على الفور واختيار أفضلها لإعادتها إلى الهرم بعد ملء الفراغات بالملاط. بالإضافة إلى ترميم الهرم، قام المشروع بدراسة مراحل البناء المختلفة للهرم المدرج مثل الأنفاق الموجودة أسفل الهرم، المدخل الجنوبي للهرم، حجرة الفاينس والمستوى الخامس للهرم. بالإضافة إلى اكتشاف تابوت الملك نتري خت وبعض الاكتشافات الهامة داخل الهرم. كما يناقش البحث قضية البحث عن مقبرة إيمحوتب المهندس العظيم، والتي تعتبر أمل جميع علماء الآثار الذين عملوا أو مازالوا يعملون في سقارة في العثور عليها، بينما اختار حواس المنطقة الواقعة غرب الهرم المدرج كمنطقة محتملة للبحث عن مقبرة إيمحوتب. [EN] The Step Pyramid of Netjerikhet (also known as Djoser) is the oldest monumental stone structure in Egypt. Much of the pyramid’s façade has suffered significant damage. Moreover, previous restoration work on the south façade destroyed some of the pyramid’s original design. The restoration team Led by Zahi Hawass has worked since 2006 to remove the accumulated dust and sand that covered the blocks. The team was able to collected the loose blocks from under the sand, treat them immediately, and chose the best place for them in within the pyramid after filling the gaps with mortar. In addition to the restoration of the pyramid, the project studied and confirmed the different construction phases of the Step Pyramid such as the tunnels under the pyramid, the south entrance of the pyramid, the room of the faience tiles and the wall stela, and the fifth level of the pyramid. In addition, the team discovered the sarcophagus of Netjerikhet and made some other important discoveries inside the pyramid. The paper will also discuss the issue of the search for the discovery of the tomb of Imhotep, such a discovery is the hope of all archaeologists who have worked or are working at Saqqara. Indeed, Hawass chose the area west of the Step Pyramid as a likely area to search for the tomb of Imhotep.

The manufacture of the Egyptian Faience through the periods of Ptolemaic and roman shows intense use of polychrome; our main concerns in this research are investigating the parameters controlling the blue color variation and the production of the apple green Faience. Archaeological faience samples belonging to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods representing various color hues were extensively studied using multiple spectroscopic techniques to explore the color palette of the Egyptian artist in this period and highlight the most significant features of their ways of coloring and fabrications. X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) results revealed quartz-rich body feature for all samples, with defined boundaries in some samples due to coloring techniques. The investigated Faience are not lead-alkaline glazes but possibly soda (plant ash) or mixed-alkali glazes with inter-particle glass phases. The high lead content accompanied by antimonite and percentage of sulphur suggested the usage of natron salt flux. The apple green glazes are a yellow lead antimonite mixed with copper oxides. The color varies from deep apple green to light apple green based on the content of oxides in the sample.

Copyright of Quarterly of the History of Material Culture / Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej is the property of Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An archaeological excavation in Prostějov (Czech Republic) revealed a workshop of a local potter with colourless, pink, and blue powders presumably used to produce faience/surface decoration. A comprehensive analytical study, which combined elemental and molecular analysis techniques, was performed to shed light on the chemical composition of these unique findings. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM EDX), inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS), flow injection analysis (FIA) with electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI MS), laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry (LDI MS), and Raman spectroscopy were applied to reveal the elemental composition of the powders and identify the colouring agents in the pink and blue powders. The colouring agents in the pink powder were probably iron and the agent in the blue powder is Prussian blue. On top of that, it was also possible to determine the organic additives in these powders through pyrolysis gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (Py GC/MS), atmospheric solids analysis probe ion mobility mass spectrometry (ASAP IM MS), and LDI MS. The organic constituents were identified as plant resin, beeswax, and fats. These results point to the preparation of faience/pigment mixtures as oil paint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pilgrim flasks were a ceramic form that first appeared in Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty. A small quantity of faience amulets in the shape of pilgrim flasks are known in several museum collections, but have not been studied in detail. The amulets are standardized in material and shape and, based on the limited contextual information, likely reflect a specific aspect of local belief, especially since their worn surface and bail for stringing suggests they were worn and touched regularly. It is suggested that these amulets are chronologically restricted and date between the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period, and are related to the contemporary appearance of New Year's Flasks – a type of pilgrim flask predominantly made in faience and thought to be for celebration of the Nile inundation. By presenting a macro-focus on a little-known amulet type, it is hoped this study will expand our understanding of religious ideology, symbolic meaning, and the changing socio-cultural context in the Third Intermediate Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The treatise "Glass and faience in the territory of Poland in the 2nd–1st millennium BC: production technology, origin and incoming directions" examines finds of glass and faience objects in Poland from the 2nd to 1st millennium BC. The finds provide evidence of trade along long-distance trade routes in the region. Faience beads were already produced in Central Europe during the early Bronze Age. Glass objects from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Alps reached Poland from the Bronze Age II onwards. During the Hallstatt C period, glassy faience from Italy or the Alps was most widespread. Trade in glass-like products was dominated by the Alpine region. The study provides archaeometric evidence for the import of materials from Egypt, the Near East, and other parts of Europe. A total of 245 samples of glass-like materials were analyzed, including faience, glassy faience, and true glass. The analysis methods included the EPMA method and the LA-ICP-MS method. Different types of alkali flux were used to identify different technological groups. The dominant colors were blue and turquoise, while green, aquamarine, yellow, and white were less common. The article describes various finds of glass beads at different archaeological sites in Poland. The beads come from different time periods, including the Hallstatt C - La Tène B period (approx. 800/750 - 260/250 BC). The beads are made of true glass and have different colors and degrees of transparency. The finds demonstrate the use of glass and faience in the Polish region from the 2nd to 1st millennium BC. The present study examines glass and faience beads from archaeological sites in Poland from the 2nd to 1st millennium BC. Various types of glass and faience with different colors and degrees of transparency were found. Higher concentrations of alkali compounds were found in the faience beads, while mixed alkali sources were used in the glass beads. The exact origin of the alkali compounds used for faience production is difficult to determine, but it is believed that both mineral soda and plant ash were used. The study highlights the diversity of glass and faience production in Poland during this time period. The present analysis examines the composition of glass and faience materials from the 2nd to 1st millennium BC in Poland. It is found that various sources of flux were used, including soda-rich plant ash and mineral soda. Silicon dioxide was obtained either from quartz sand or ground quartz stones. Copper compounds were used as colorants, especially in the Bronze Age. Cobalt compounds were also used as colorants, mainly in faience, glazed faience, and true glass. The results show that copper compounds were mainly used in the Bronze Age, and cobalt compounds were mainly used in the HaC-LTC period. The present study examines glass and faience materials from the 2nd to 1st millennium BC in Poland. Data on the ingredients of various types of glass are presented, including Bronze Age, Hallstatt, and La Tène glass. The materials were colored with various compounds such as cobalt, tin, and lead to produce different colors such as blue, violet, turquoise, and green. It is found that different methods were used to opacify glass and faience, and iron compounds were used to create glass in various shades of green. [Extracted from the article]

The paper deals with the study of morphology (shape, decor, color, etc.) and manufacturing technology of beads and pendants found in several burials of a necropolis near the Zaozernoe village in North-Western Crimea. The necropolis was investigated by the Crimean archaeological expedition of the Department of Archaeology, Lomonosov Moscow state University, from 1979 to 1985. The beads and pendants were made of glass, faience, semiprecious stones (carnelian and rock crystal), jet, amber, and bone. The results of the research indicate that these artefacts were imported from the Middle East, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. The catalogue prepared by Ekaterina Alekseeva in 1970s was used for dating the artefacts. This catalogue is still the most significant publication dedicated to collection of beads made of different materials from numerous Northern Black Sea sites.

An archaeological excavation in Prostějov (Czech Republic) revealed a workshop of a local potter with colourless, pink, and blue powders presumably used to produce faience/surface decoration. A comprehensive analytical study, which combined elemental and molecular analysis techniques, was performed to shed light on the chemical composition of these unique findings. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM EDX), inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS), flow injection analysis (FIA) with electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI MS), laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry (LDI MS), and Raman spectroscopy were applied to reveal the elemental composition of the powders and identify the colouring agents in the pink and blue powders. The colouring agents in the pink powder were probably iron and the agent in the blue powder is Prussian blue. On top of that, it was also possible to determine the organic additives in these powders through pyrolysis gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (Py GC/MS), atmospheric solids analysis probe ion mobility mass spectrometry (ASAP IM MS), and LDI MS. The organic constituents were identified as plant resin, beeswax, and fats. These results point to the preparation of faience/pigment mixtures as oil paint.

Copyright of Tyragetia is the property of National Museum of History of Moldova and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The sacral knot is one of the most discussed symbols of Minoan art. This study focuses on its iconographic use throughout time and tries to find a way to differentiate it from other similar symbols. The first examples of the symbol are traced back to MM II while the last ones appear in LM IIIA. It occurs on various kinds of material like ivory, faience and frescoes, but mainly on seals and sealings. In glyptic it goes through a chronological evolution which can be divided into four stages.

A pendant representing a human figure was found during the 2015 excavation campaign within the Roman pottery workshop in the town centre of today’s Crikvenica (northeast Adriatic), in the area pertaining to the remains of roofed rooms with pavements. The iconographic analysis ascertained that, with all probability, it represents the Hellenised Egyptian deity Horus, that is, the Greco-Roman Harpocrates; along with the rest of the gens of Isis, he belongs to the “Alexandrine family” or triad/ tetrad. The pendant, made of faience, can be placed alongside similar objects uncovered in the eastern Adriatic, within the wider context of spread of the cult of Isis and with it associated beliefs in the Adriatic area, but it can also be regarded in the light of personal religiousness or belief, possibly with the apotropaic, individualised significance of an amulet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is concerned with the investigation of Egyptian and Egyptianizing artifacts dating back to the period comprised between the 10th century BC and the first half of 6th century BC, which were found in some archaeological sites of eastern-central Sicily. The examined Aegyptiaca include thirt-four items consisting of scarabs, funerary statuettes, figurines and unguentaria, which are mostly preserved at the regional archeology museum "Paolo Orsi" in Syracuse and, only in part, at the regional Aeolian museum "Luigi Bernabò Brea" in the Lipari island. Some of the investigated objects are made of faience (a glazed non-clay ceramic material, coated with an alkali-based glaze), while some others are in steatite or other stones. Through the chemical investigation of the selected artifacts, the study aims to extend the compositional dataset available on Aegyptiaca, as well as to identify the colorants used for the preparation of the investigated glazes. For such a scope, non-destructive bulk chemical analyses through portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) were carried out on both the bodies and the overlying coloured glazes. A rather variable chemical composition was found in terms of both bodies and glazes, thus pointing to the use of different recipes and/or workshops for the investigated artifacts. The results obtained demonstrate the validity of this analytical technique in revealing the elemental composition of artifacts belonging to museum collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of firing pottery is to change clay, a plastic material, into ceramic, which is aplastic. Examined here are structures designed to fire pottery or faience or to make glass (although the latter might be better described as furnaces). Firing can take place in an open, bonfire-like environment, which can also be enclosed as a firing structure. Beyond this is the development of the true kiln of which there are two main types: updraft and downdraft. The first of these is by far the most common on archaeological sites throughout the world dating to before the nineteenth century CE. Here the firing technology of ancient Egypt is discussed in particular.

The association of the friends of the old faience factory of Lunéville Saint-Clément was founded in 1998 and has two main aims: to study and promote the heritage of the faience produced by the famous (and less famous) faience factories of Lunéville, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, and to share information about this heritage with amateurs, students, researchers and heritage professionals. The present case study, based on an exhibition mounted in 2017 and devoted to the faience pieces of the Rovina family, will give an account of the different forms of mediation that the association uses, and in particular its participatory approach. The association invites owners of pieces of faience to make a contribution to the documentary research and to the exhibitions.

Increasing the efficiency of using gypsum binders can be carried out by using not natural gypsum raw materials, but calcium sulfate-containing waste from various industries (phosphogypsum, borogypsum, citrogypsum, etc.). As the main source material in the work, we used gypsum-containing waste from a faience factory in the form of waste molds for casting dishes, souvenirs and plumbing fixtures. It has been established that the optimal binding system is formed by mixing powders of dihydrate technogenic gypsum from a coarse and fine earthenware factory with average particle diameters of 3.473 microns and 3.065 microns in a percentage ratio of 30:70, respectively. Using a computer software developed by the authors, which makes it possible to simulate the microstructure of a raw mixture taking into account the contact interaction of particles and calculate the average coordination number, models of binary packing of particles were constructed at various ratios of their diameters. Studies of the strength of composites obtained on the basis of bidisperse systems have shown the presence of an extremum in the region of mixtures containing 30% coarse powder. With optimal packing, a large number of phase contacts are formed due to the regulation of the grain composition of the bidisperse system. It was revealed that a brick based on the waste of two-water gypsum from earthenware production has 2.5–5 times better characteristics of compressive strength than traditional building wall products based on natural gypsum. At the same time, the strength immediately after molding is more than 3 times higher than that of traditional gypsum products. Even higher indicators are achieved when adding microcalcite in addition to the waste of earthenware production, in this case, the compressive strength is 3–6 times higher, and the strength immediately after molding is almost 3 times higher than that of traditional gypsum products.

New data on faience production technologies in central Europe come from an analysis of 12 faience beads from an Early Bronze Age cemetery in Poland. The beads were tested with the EPMA method. Altogether 65 measurements were made. In terms of morphology, the artifacts are all the same, but they differ in microstructure and chemical composition. For some a mixed alkali flux was used, for others soda‐rich plant ashes. Even so, all of the beads seem to have been made from local raw materials in central Europe (soda‐rich plant ashes could have come from plants growing near one of the mainland salt sources, which are frequent, for example, in south‐eastern Poland). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Faience has been described as “the first high-tech ceramic,” which aptly describes its artificial nature. Unlike conventional, clay-based ceramics, the raw material of faience is a mixture of silica, soda, and lime reacted together during firing to make a new medium, quite different in nature to its constituents. The Egyptians referred to the material as tjehenet (“that which is brilliant or scintillating”), because of its reflective qualities, which they associated with the shiny surfaces of semi-precious stones.

Despite decades of research into faience artefacts in China, many questions remain about how, where and by whom this technology began. This study combines published and new results of chemical analysis, morphology and chronology of the earliest faience beads uncovered from Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi to suggest that at the latest in the mid-second millennium BC faience was first imported from the northern Caucasus or the Steppe into Xinjiang. In the second half of the second millennium, the Kayue people in Qinghai began making high potash faience, before the Zhou people in Shaanxi and Shanxi learnt and distributed the technology more widely across central China, probably via contacts with their pastoralist neighbours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐temperature vitreous materials fluxed with lead (and barium) appeared in the early Warring States period (c.fifth century bce) in ancient China. A range of lead vitreous products fluxed with the same agent, including faience/glass beads, glazed pottery and Chinese blue (purple) pigment, were developed subsequently. This study carries out scientific analysis of six vitreous beads unearthed from the Zhaitouhe cemetery site in northern Shaanxi dating to the early and middle Warring States period to investigate their chemical composition, microstructure and coloration. The lead (and barium) vitreous beads identified here are some of the earliest lead vitreous materials discovered in China so far, and therefore important for the study of the development of lead vitreous technologies in ancient China. This paper also points out that it is meaningful to evaluate the lead glass, glazed pottery and barium copper silicate pigments as a whole technological assemblage given their close relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among major political, economic and intellectual conflicts, a genuine revolution took place in the applied arts during twenty years of the second half of the nineteenth century, notably in French tableware. The discovery of Japanese art coupled with the noticeable pursuit of artistic freedom sparkled intense experimentation and amazing creativity in the production of objects able to meet the wishes of a changing public. After dealing with the concept of Japonisme, this essay proposes to examine what happened within the French manufacture of faience and porcelain between 1866 and 1886. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faience beads in the form of jewels, which decorated the bodies of the deceased, represent a regular constituent of the burial equipment of officials, priests and their families in the Old Kingdom period. While most tombs were robbed already in ancient times, beaded jewels were often disregarded by the robbers. Despite the fact that the context had been disturbed and the threading material usually decomposed, the beads stili allow us to gel an idea of the appearance of the original jewels. The odds improve further if an intact burial is discovered. Such situation has occurred twice in the case of the rock-cut tomb of the dignitary Nefer. During the archaeological seasons in the years 2012-2014, two of the four shafts uncovered were found intact (AS 68d, Shafts 3 and 4). The three sets of beaded jewels which were found in Nefer's tomb belonged to a man, woman and a child, providing an opportunity for a remarkable comparative material study. The potential of these finds consists not only in their state of preservation, but also in the variability of their owners that will enable us to compare the burial practices used for individua! members of a high-ranking family who lived in the second part of the Old Kingdom period.

Excavations in the area of tomb MMA 1152 at Sheikh Abd el-Gurna, conducted since2003, have uncovered a substantial set of faience objects coming from burials made there duringthe later Pharaonic Period, before the tomb became a hermitage for Coptic monks. Analysis of thematerial points to several episodes of reuse of the original Middle Kingdom structure in the ThirdIntermediate Period and the Late Period.

A collection of 619 whole and fragmentary ushebti figurines dating from the ThirdIntermediate Period was recovered between 2004 and 2007 by the Polish team excavating in theChapel of Hatshepsut, an integral part of the Queen Pharaoh’s mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari.The figurines include objects of faience, clay and painted clay, all relatively small and roughlymodelled. They represent a category of objects that is seldom published separately. The paperpresents a typology of the ushebtis based primarily on the material from which they were produced,discussing their chronology and find contexts as well.