This summer, Mo Stein, a second-year M.A. student in Art History & Archaeology, traveled to London, Oxford, and Paris to pursue research on Egyptian faience—a brilliant glazed material whose production and use underwent technical and cultural transformation during the periods of Greek and Roman rule in Egypt.

With the support of the Penelope Biggs Travel Award and the George R. Throop Endowment, Stein was able to study collections at the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Petrie Museum, and the Louvre. Their work explores both the material’s technological evolution and its sociopolitical significance in a period of cultural exchange and imperial influence.

The data Stein collected will form the foundation of their Qualifying Paper for the M.A. degree and may even serve as the basis for a future Ph.D. dissertation. Their research highlights how careful study of ancient objects can open new perspectives on the interactions between Egypt, Greece, and Rome.