Ancient Egyptian Pottery – Uses and Symbolic Meaning

Ancient Egyptian pottery was produced by the ancient Egyptians as early as 5000 B.C. The sculptures produced were highly stylized and symbolic. Most of the earliest pottery vessels and clay seal impressions were found in tombs. Many of the symbols or hieroglyphics found carved or painted on pieces have an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge from the past.

Pottery from that time was used in much the same way that we use modern kitchen vessels today. The quality was very good and it was generally made by women without the use of a potter’s wheel. The pottery would have been fired in primitive kilns or on open fires, as they certainly did not have modern electric or gas kilns back then. Until the dynastic period, pottery was hand-painted with images of animals, patterns, ships, and human figures.

Symbols, in the form of humans, animals, or objects, were part of a formal writing system that contained a combination of logographic and alphabetic elements. There are over 700 symbols and Ancient Egypt was one of the first literate societies. They used the symbols to convey information in the same way that ownership and production marks are used on pottery and other items today.

One of the most famous symbols found on ancient Egyptian pottery and other arts is still in use today. The Ankh is the symbol of eternal life and today the symbol is used as a Christian cross. There are many images depicting the gods holding an Ankh to someone’s lips, which is to be an offering of “The Breath of Life”, the breath you will need in the afterlife. The symbol looks like the Christian cross we see today, except the top is a rounded person that looks like a stick with one leg.

The Eye of Horus, originally called Wedjat or Oudjat, is another easily recognizable symbol found on many Egyptian ceramics and artworks. Horus was depicted as the falcon-headed god, he was an important god in Egyptian legend. The symbol, which is the human eye and eyebrow, represents protection, health, and prosperity. The ancient Egyptians believed that this symbol had a very powerful and magical effect in restoring harmony to the unstable world and restoring evil deeds. Some of the symbols used in ancient art often have more than one meaning, and with many myths and stories behind each one, it is almost impossible to be completely sure of the origins of the symbols.

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