Shallow faience bowls of this type were particularly popular during the early to mid-18th Dynasty. Faience was a commonly used material in Egypt; it was made from silica--found for example in quartz pebbles, sand, or lime--and formed in a mold. Its blue or turquoise glaze came from inclusions of copper as a colorant. This bowl was molded over a hemispherical form and then glazed and fired. The dark purple decoration, often added to monochrome faience pieces, was painted before firing with a manganese-based pigment.
These vessels (sometimes described as "marsh bowls") are typically embellished with aquatic imagery with allusions to fertility, such as tilapia fish, lotuses, papyrus umbels, buds on stems, and pools of water. The bright blue of faience, as well as the aquatic motifs adorning these bowls is associated with the life-giving qualities of cool, fresh water. The blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), and the tilapia fish (Tilapia nilotica) are emblematic of such imagery. Here, two fish carry lotus stems with buds and opened blossoms in their mouths. The ornamentation relates to the powerful themes of rebirth and regeneration.
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<span lang="en">Anonymous</span> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Egypt" class="extiw" title="w:en:Egypt"><span title="sovereign state in North Africa and Asia">Egypt</span></a>)<span style="display:none">Unknown author</span></div>
between circa 1450 and circa 1400 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Ante_Christum_Natum" class="extiw" title="w:en:Ante Christum Natum">BC</a> <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,-1450-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1319,-1450-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-1400-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902</div> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:New_Kingdom_of_Egypt" class="extiw" title="w:en:New Kingdom of Egypt"><span title="period from 1550 to 1077 BC in ancient Egypt">New Kingdom of Egypt</span></a><div style="display: none;">era QS:P2348,Q180568</div>)
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