Glass vessels from the burial of Nesikhons

The latest securely dated glass vessels from Pharaonic Egypt belonged to Nesikhons, wife of the high priest Pinodjem II. She was buried April 9, 974 B.C., in a dry rock-cut tomb in western Thebes (Theban Tomb 320, first royal cache), together with a set of extraordinary glass beakers. many of them are not core-formed, but were apparently made around a gypsum mold that could be removed without leaving traces, Since the beakers left the dry atmosphere of the tomb, efflorescent crystals are forming and cover the glass. Samples of four of the beakers were analyzed by SEM and EDS, and compared with glass from Timna. The beakers are low in potassium and magnesium, so they were most likely made from sand and mineral soda, unlike New Kingdom glasses. The low alkaline earth contents make the Nesikhons glass especially susceptible to attack by moisture, accounting for their extensive weathering. Copper and carbon amber were found as dissolved colorants, along with lead antimonate and sodium antimonate as pigments.