Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Earthenware decorated with colorful opaque glazes.
  • noun A moderate to strong greenish blue.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A fine kind of pottery or earthenware, glazed, and painted with designs, said to have been invented in Faenza, Italy, in 1299.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Glazed earthenware; esp., a fine variety that which is decorated with colorful designs in an opaque glaze.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A type of tin-glazed earthenware ceramic.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French faïence, after Faïence, Faenza, Italy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French faïence, named after the city Faenza in Italy, where it was made in the 16th century.

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Examples

  • I have learned since, as she knew all the time, -- that 'faience' is used as a generic term!

    The Secret of a Happy Home (1896) Marion Harland 1876

  • Mr Shar told Dawn that remains of a 'faience' mirror factory had been found at the project's second block.

    baithak 2009

  • Egyptian artefacts such as faience are found in Mycenaean excavations, and Mycenean-style pottery is found in Akhenaten’s city of Amarna in Egypt, indicating trading and/or diplomatic links between Mycenae and Akhenaten’s Egypt.

    Kingdom of the Ark, by Lorraine Evans. Book review Carla 2007

  • Egyptian artefacts such as faience are found in Mycenaean excavations, and Mycenean-style pottery is found in Akhenaten’s city of Amarna in Egypt, indicating trading and/or diplomatic links between Mycenae and Akhenaten’s Egypt.

    Archive 2007-08-01 Carla 2007

  • But I would make do with a lovely blue Egyptian blue faience shabti (figures buried with the dead for company in the next world) from 332-330 B.C. (estimate: €600-€800).

    Affordable Ancient Treasures Margaret Studer 2011

  • While in a brocante in France, I inquired about the origin of a faience plate.

    se tromper - French Word-A-Day 2008

  • I've never heard of any faience factories in Italy dating back to 7,000 BCE - hell, not even in Egypt dating back that far, so I'll be interested to learn more about what he's talking about - if any further information is published.

    New Ruins Discovered in Pakistan Jan 2009

  • Note the favourite props that reapp­eared often, such as the colourful clothes, exquisitely embroid­ered green silk fabric and ornate faience tiles.

    Orientalist Art: the harem Hels 2009

  • The interior of the dome was decorated with mosaic, faience and marble, all commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent.

    Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (661-91) - beautiful colours, splendid proportions Hels 2009

  • Frog Amulet, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reigns of Ay and Horemheb, ca. 1324-1293 B.C.; purple-glazed faience with brown eyes.

    The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt 2009

Comments

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  • Hers was a sad elongated face; its curious texture recalled Canopic jars - the pureness and semi-transparency of faience.

    - Aidan Higgins, In Old Heidelberg

    January 7, 2009

  • Also faïence.

    January 8, 2009