Imitation, Artificiality and Creation: the Colour and Perception of the Earliest Glass in New Kingdom Egypt

Abstract

The introduction and use of glass in Late Bronze Age Egypt (18th to 19th Dynasties) is discussed from a materiality-based approach. It is suggested that the artificiality of this new material was deliberately proclaimed, highlighting the ability of those behind its production to access the processes of creation and transformation. Colour is central to the arguments presented, and it is suggested that glass was valued for its ability to fully assume particular colours, rather than displaying these on the surface only in the manner of painted, glazed or gilded artefacts.