Art Institute of Chicago

Kohl Container in the Shape of a Palm Column

Egyptian

Date

New Kingdom, mid–Dynasty 18 or early Dynasty 19, about 1352–1213 BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Egypt

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This small container was designed to hold kohl, a cosmetic eye paint made of ground galena or malachite. Ancient Egyptian men and women wore kohl for its aesthetic appeal but also to dampen the harsh sunlight of North Africa and possibly even for medicinal purposes. The columns shaped like palm trees common in ancient Egyptian architecture inspired the elegant form of this glass vessel. Containers like this luxurious example were buried with their owners for continued use in the afterlife.

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