Little glass is found in Egypt before the New Kingdom, and research indicates that what has been found was probably imported.. Because glassmaking appears as a fully formed in-dustry ear
Trang 1the period depicting cartouches (oval or oblong decorations
framing a ruler’s name), hieroglyphs, and human fi gures
Bowls and chalices were common vessel forms In the Twenty
Sixth Dynasty (ca 664–525 b.c.e.) ushabtis and model sistra
(musical instruments of the percussion family) became
in-creasingly popular forms
Little glass is found in Egypt before the New Kingdom,
and research indicates that what has been found was probably
imported Because glassmaking appears as a fully formed
in-dustry early in the New Kingdom, it is possible that foreign
glassmakers were brought to Egypt to develop a native
indus-try Regardless of who produced New Kingdom glass, this
pe-riod was the peak of Egyptian glass production Production
was in full swing and highly developed by the reign of Th
ut-mose III (r 1479–1425 b.c.e.) A number of workshops are
known from the New Kingdom, especially from the palace of
Malkata, near Th ebes, and from Amarna Glass production
was on the decline by the late Twentieth Dynasty (1196–1070
b.c.e.) and continued on a reduced scale from that time
During the New Kingdom several techniques were used
to create glass objects Vessels were almost entirely
core-formed, or shaped around a center rod; they could also be mold-made Glass could be worked like stone using a tech-nique known as cold cutting, with the glass being chipped away and sculpted with a hammer and chisel Molding and cold cutting were oft en combined to create glass sculptures
in the round, a unique practice in the ancient world Core forming was slowly replaced by blowing as the most common vessel-making technique in the Graeco-Roman Period Nets, bags, baskets, and matting were created by ancient Egyptians out of a limited range of materials, usually palm leaves and grasses but occasionally reeds and rushes Basketry has been found in some quantity at certain sites Additional information can be gleaned from mud impressions that were oft en made when old matting or basketry pieces were incor-porated into building materials for new constructions as a means of reinforcement
Several techniques were used to create basketry in ancient Egypt, but coiled basketry predominated from Prehistoric until Ptolemaic times In the Predynastic Period matting was incorporated into housing Th roughout the Dynastic Period bed frames and chair seats were woven with matting Twined
Group of bronze tools for woodworking, from Th ebes, Egypt (New Kingdom, around 1300 b.c.e.) (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)
crafts: Egypt 287