Mould

Red pottery mould used for the manufacture of small faience objects in the shape of a lotus flower. Compare with W M Flinders Petrie, Tell el-Amarna (London, 1894), plate XIX, no. 458. At the royal city of Amarna in 1892, Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie discovered thousands of ceramic moulds used to make faience rings, jewellery and amulets. Made from the same raw materials as glass (silica, soda and lime) faience was prepared as a paste and shaped in moulds before firing. Different glazing techniques produced a variety of colours.