Decortype › Ceramics & Porcelain › Earthenware & Ancient Pottery

Egyptian faience

Africa tradition · 5 examples · indicative market tier: $50k–1M (high collector)

Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic material from Ancient Egypt. The sintering process covered the material with a true vitreous coating as the quartz underwent vitrification, creating a bright lustre of various colours usually in a transparent blue or green isotropic glass. Its name in the Ancient Egyptian language was tjehenet, literally "the gleaming" or "the dazzling", and modern archeological terms for it include sintered quartz, glazed frit, and glazed composition. Wikipedia →

Types & examples

Fragment of an Inlay Headdress
Fragment of an Inlay Headdress, c. 1353–1295 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art
Frog Amulet
Frog Amulet, c. 1380–1330 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art
Baboon on a Limestone Base
Baboon on a Limestone Base, 380–30 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art
Shawabty of Nectanebo II
Shawabty of Nectanebo II, 360–342 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art
Lion Head
Lion Head, 664–332 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art

Where to buy

1stDibsHigh-end antiques & design marketplaceBrowse listings → LiveAuctioneersAggregated live auctions worldwideBrowse listings → InvaluableAuction-house listings & price archiveBrowse listings → Christie'sMajor-auction results & upcoming salesBrowse listings → EtsyLiving artisans & vintage dealersBrowse listings → eBayBroad secondary market — vet sellers carefullyBrowse listings →

Each link opens a live, image-rich search for this craft on that marketplace. Listings rotate constantly; authenticate significant pieces independently — attribution quality varies widely outside museum collections.