<em>Tile Fragment with Mandragora Fruit and Leaves</em>, 1352–1336 B.C.E. Faience, 2 15/16 × 5 5/16 in. (7.5 × 13.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 52.148.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.148.2_SL1.jpg)

Tile Fragment with Mandragora Fruit and Leaves, 1352–1336 B.C.E. Faience, 2 15/16 × 5 5/16 in. (7.5 × 13.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 52.148.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.148.2_SL1.jpg)

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Can you tell me how the ancient Egyptians colored this piece so that the colors are still so vibrant today?

This inlay is made from glazed faience; the glass-like surface maintains its mineral-based color very well. This is the same material as the shiny, bright blue figurines you may have also seen in the galleries. The surface is pretty resilient when faced with light and water, the two main elements that tend to impact color preservation.

So many historical items and artefacts get damaged by the elements - sun, wind, rain - which can affect the state that they are found in, especially when it comes to color.

I've never seen ancient art like this before. Is this considered more rare than the limestone pieces from that era?

I'm not sure how frequent inlays like this are found, but I do know that they are often quite fragmentary thus making them not as interesting or informative to display. Which explains why you don't see them as much. Plus these inlays come from the city of Amarna where people actually lived rather than a tomb or temple like much of the objects on view from ancient Egypt.

The material that they are made out of was actually quite common. You'll see many small objects like figurines--usually blue--made out of faience as well.

Did the mandrake have any particular significance to the Egyptians or did it serve a purely decorative function?

I do know that mandrake was used for its medicinal properties in ancient Egypt. Our works from the Amarna Period are rather interesting in that, rather than coming from a tomb, some are from the city of Amarna, which gives us a different look at ancient Egyptian art.

That's pretty cool about the Amarna stuff being from the city and not the tomb--helps account for the liveliness of these polychrome faience tiles.

Absolutely! So much of the art we are familiar with from ancient Egypt originated in tombs and excavations of burials. Archaeology based on habitation, which often doesn't result in as many art objects, really helps us to build a stronger picture of ancient life. Amarna, as a city, was only occupied for a short period and then abandoned, is kind of an ideal archaeological site!

Wanted to know more about this. Also, where is this region?

This case shows a sampling of faience inlays from Amarna, the capital of the era in which Akhenaten and Nefertiti ruled and worshipped the deity the sun disc, Aten. The city was called Akhetaten in ancient times and was located to the east of the Nile in central Egypt, in what is now the Minya governate.

The material you're looking at, faience, is something you will see throughout Egyptian art. Often green-blue, faience is made from a quartz-based paste molded and fired at a high temperature, with a glaze of powdered glass mixed with liquid.

Tile Fragment with Mandragora Fruit and Leaves

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

MEDIUM Faience

Reportedly From: Hermopolis Magna, Egypt

DATES 1352–1336 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period

DIMENSIONS 2 15/16 × 5 5/16 in. (7.5 × 13.5 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 52.148.2

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from Tell el-Amarna, Egypt, reportedly from Hermopolis Magna, Egypt; by 1952, acquired by Louis Keimer of Cairo, Egypt; 1952, purchased from Louis Keimer by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Fragment of polychromed tile with bold decoration of mandragora fruit and leaves. From a circular or semi-circular composition. Green, yellow, brown details in raised faience on white ground tinged with blue. Condition: Fragment, chipped at edges.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Tile Fragment with Mandragora Fruit and Leaves, 1352–1336 B.C.E. Faience, 2 15/16 × 5 5/16 in. (7.5 × 13.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 52.148.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.148.2_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 52.148.2_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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