Tra natura e cultura: materiali vetrosi e minerali nell’Egitto pre-romano

This paper summarizes and develops some of the topics covered during the presentation “Glass: four millennia of history” presented at the GMPE in March 2016. The goal is to investigate using a multidisciplinary approach the relationship between natural resources of mineral origin and vitreous materials in ancient Egypt, considering not only the technological (selection, dosage and processing of the raw materials) and economic (value, manufacturing, trade) aspects, but also the cultural and cultual meanings that shaped the relationship between inorganic materials of natural and artificial origin over the millennia.