In ancient Nubia, jewelry was worn by both men and women (and sometimes horses!). Blue-green glazed faience was popular. Faience ornaments appear frequently in jewelry from the capital city of Kerma, from about 2400-1550 BC. The large, ribbed beads shown here are known today as “melon beads” because of their resemblance to the fruit. Faience was eye-catching. The quartz-based ceramic could be molded and shaped, and produced its own bright glaze when fired at high temperatures. It was often combined with beads made from colorful quartz, cornelian, and gold. Faience appliques were also used to decorate clothing. Swipe to see a belt of faience beads framing a central pendant made of glazed quartz. During the Napatan period (ca. 750-350 BC), queens were often buried with faience pectorals (ornaments worn over the chest suspended from necklaces). A popular subject for these pectorals was a lion-headed goddess with wings, as seen in the third image. ​​The kings of Napata took great p...