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Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom to Late Dynastic Period, 18th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 1550 to 332 BCE. An incredibly rare set of raw frit balls used to create a myriad of different amulets, offerings, and trinkets. This is the beginning stage of many types of artifacts known to archaeologists and Egyptologists alike which is highly unusual. Each oblong spheroid ball exhibits an incredibly vibrant blue hue - known by many as "Egyptian blue" - and rest inside the basin of a rectangular pottery dish. Size of each (both are relatively similar): 1.37" L x 1.17" W x 0.85" H (3.5 cm x 3 cm x 2.2 cm); (dish): 3.52" L x 2.43" W x 0.89" H (8.9 cm x 6.2 cm x 2.3 cm)

In regards to these particular frit balls, "Color is an important aspect of both the 'fine' and 'decorative' arts of ancient Egypt. Pigmented glazes enhanced objects made from faience and steatite, while polychromy was indispensable to sculpture and architecture. If any one color could be most characteristic of Egyptian decorative taste, it would almost certainly be the vibrant shade of blue represented by these lumps of 'frit.' So characteristic of ancient Egypt is their color to modern viewers that it is now widely known as 'Egyptian blue.'" (Dr. Gerry D. Scott III. "Temple, Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection." University of California Press, 1992, p. 25).

Exhibited at the Drexel Museum, Philadelphia, 1895 to 1914, ref. no. 16.605; with the Drexel Institute Collection, Minneapolis Museum of Art, 1915 to 1958; at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number EL01.079.1996.

Published in Dr. Gerry D. Scott III. "Temple, Tomb and Dwelling: Egyptian Antiquities from the Harer Family Trust Collection." University of California Press, 1992, pp. 24-25, fig. 9.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired in 1976; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1996 to 2023, reference number; in the University of Arizona Museum of Art, October 1993 to December 1993; at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 1986 to 1991; ex-L. Blumka collection, purchased in 1958; with the Drexel Institute Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1915 to 1958, ref. nos. 16.163, 16.466, and 16.671; Exhibited at the Drexel Museum, Philadelphia, 1895 to 1914; ex-Emil Brugsch Collection, curator of the Bulaq Museum, Cairo, Egypt; Published in "Temple, Tomb, and Dwelling", fig. 9

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#182262

Dish with small chips and light abrasions, with balls exhibiting some very minor fading to pigment, otherwise all are intact and excellent. Great preservation to most blue coloration on frit balls. Old exhibition numbers handwritten on each piece.