Cleveland Museum of Art

Cosmetic Vessel

Date: c. 1980–1901 BCE
Medium: anhydrite
Culture: Egypt, Middle Kingdom (2040–1648 BCE), Dynasty 12
Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 150919

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Cosmetic vessels would have once contained scented oils or ointments used for beautifying the body, while kohl containers held the eye paint seen in many depictions of ancient Egyptians. Galena, a mineral used in eye paint, helped reflect the sun and repelled insects and tiny organisms that could cause eye disease and blindness. Cosmetics were an essential element of daily life and associated with upholding the ancient Egyptians’ high standards of cleanliness.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Cleveland Museum of Art

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of John G. Ross (purchased 1952 in Cairo; on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the 1960s); sold: New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet. Purchased from James Freeman, Kyoto