Main Menu

Fragment of a Vessel from Amarna

Skip to main content
Collections Menu

Fragment of a Vessel from Amarna

Place of OriginEgypt, excavated at Tell el-Amarna
Date1400-1350 BCE
DimensionsH: 7/8 in. (2.3 cm); Thickness: 3/16 in. (0.4 cm)
MediumCore-formed; applied marvered threads.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Society, London
Object number
1925.1065
Not on View
DescriptionFragment of the side of a vessel with a convex, curving profile. The opaque blue glass ground is decorated with applied marvered threads of opaque white and yellow, tooled into a festoon pattern. This decoration, characteristic of New Kingdom Egyptian glassware, suggests a high level of artistic refinement.
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. 20, p. 63, repr. (col.) p. 43.
Fragment of Vessel
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, probably the reigns of Amenhotep III-Akenaten, about 1400-1350 BCE
Fragment of Vessel
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, probably reigns of Amenhotep III-Akhenaten, about 1400-1350 BCE
Unguent Bottle (Base-Ring Jug)
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, About 1412-1350 BCE
Unguent Bottle (Alabastron)
2nd through mid-1st century BCE

Membership

Become a TMA member today

Support TMA

Help support the TMA mission