Fragment of a Vessel from Amarna

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Fragment of a Vessel from Amarna

Place of OriginEgypt, excavated at Tell el-Amarna

Date1400-1350 BCE

DimensionsH: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); W: 1 in. (2.5 cm)

MediumCore-formed; applied marvered threads.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Society, London

Object number

1925.1064

Not on View

DescriptionFragment of the side of a vessel with a convex, curving profile. The dark blue glass ground is decorated with applied marvered threads of opaque white and yellow, tooled into a festoon pattern. This decorative technique is characteristic of New Kingdom Egyptian glass production and suggests a high level of craftsmanship.

Label TextThese six fragments of core-formed glass vessels (TMA 1925.1060-1066) were excavated at Tell el-Amarna, also known as Akhetaten, the short-lived capital established by Pharaoh Akhenaten (1353–1334 BCE) as the center of his religious and administrative reforms. Among the many specialized crafts practiced at the site, glass production was particularly significant. Excavations uncovered glass workshops equipped with furnaces, manufacturing debris, and raw material processing areas. This evidence confirms that New Kingdom Egyptian artisans were not merely reshaping imported ingots but were capable of producing glass from raw materials, highlighting Amarna’s role as a major center of innovation in ancient glassmaking.Published ReferencesGrose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-Formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, cat. no. 19, p. 63, repr. (col.) p. 43.