Egyptian Tiles

The ancient Egyptians loved to decorate their surroundings. They had the walls of their homes plastered and painted in bright colors. Many beautiful tiles have been found in the tombs of the pharaohs, and it is thought that they were used to decorate the furniture and floors of their magnificient palaces.

To make these tiles, you will need:

Two sheets of card, pencil, ruler, scissors, self-hardening clay, cutting board, rolling pin, modeling tool, sandpaper, acrylic paint (blue, gold, green, yellow ocher), paintbrush, water pot.

Method:

Step 1
Copy the two tile shapes, about 2in deep, on one sheet of card. Cut them out. Draw around them on the other sheet to make the whole pattern. Trim the edge as in step 2.

Step 2
With a pencil draw a Chinese style design onto the paper. Make a solid border around the nonfolded edges.

Step 3
Mark the individual tile patterns onto the clay. Cut through the lines but do not separate them fully. Score patterns of leaves and flowers onto the surface of the clay. Separate each tile.

Step 4
When one side of each tile has dried , turn the tile over and leave the other side to dry. When the tiles are fully dry, use a piece of sandpaper to smooth off the edges.

Step 5
The tiles are now ready to paint. Use bright colors to paint over the patterns you made earlier. When you have finished, leave the tiles to dry. The tiles that you have made are similar to the ones found at a royal palace in Thebes, the capital of ancient Egypt. The design looks somewhat like a lotus, the sacred flower of ancient Egypt.