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Egypt Metal Arts:
Metal
was used in the production of statues, temple fittings and cult
implements, jewelry and funerary equipment. Both silver and gold were
used to product cult statues, which were then frequently inlaid with
materials such as precious stones.
Obviously,
many of these statues did not survive, for they were repeatedly melted
down for their valuable metal and stones. Gold and Silver were not used
in religious statuary simply because of their value, but also because of
the symbolism associated with these metals. Gold was considered the
flesh of the gods, particularly the sun god, and silver was the material
from which the bones of the gods were made. Furthermore, silver was
associated with the moon, so lunar disks on statues were sometimes made
from this material.
The
Egyptians also manufactured a material which we often call Egyptian
faience or glazed composition. Faience consists of a quartz core with a
glazed surface. The material could be modeled and molded, and because it
was inexpensive, this material was used to mass produce many small
objects such as statuettes, amulets, rings and ear studs. It was often
made to imitate stone and used as a substitute for that material.
The
color of the glaze depended on additions to the basic mixture. One of
the most common colors was a blue-green, imitating turquoise, which was
associated with the important goddess, Hathor, sometimes known as the
"Lady of Turquoise". Also, the ancient Egyptian word for faience was
tjehenet, from the root tjehen, meaning "to dazzle or gleam". Hence, the
material also had a solar symbolism.
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