Anhydrite; residue of cosmetic black pigment inside
H. 4,2 cm
Egypt, Middle Kingdom, ca. 1552-1069 BC. J.-C.
Exhibition
Museum of San Antonio, Texas, 1991-1992
Origin
Former English private collection of Mr. Gawain McKinlay (1945-1996), United Kingdom
For a similar typology
BOURRIAU, J., Pharaohs and Mortals, Egyptian art in the Middle-Kingdom, p.142, n°144 (kohl vase with monkeys in anhydrite, XIIth dynasty
Anhydrite vase decorated with two monkeys in relief, see inv. 30.8.139 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and a pot of kohl in the British Museum, inv. EA20759.
Anhydrite was a highly prized material, often used for luxury ships in the Middle Kingdom. The monkey was also often used as a decorative motif on cosmetic containers. As J. Bourriau explains in Pharaohs and Mortals, Egyptian Art in the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge, 1988, p. 142, "In the Middle Kingdom, monkeys are found almost exclusively as decoration on anhydrite bowls and kohl pots. They appear frequently in domestic scenes in funerary reliefs, showing that they were kept as pets, but they were also erotic symbols, which might explain their association with eye paint and other cosmetics." The application of cosmetics had a sensual and erotic connotation for Egyptians.
An Egyptian Middle-Kingdom anhydrite kohl vase, 1552-1069 BC
For an anhydrite bowl decorated with two monkeys in relief, see acc. No. 30.8.139 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and a kohl jar in the British Museum, acc. No. EA20759. Anhydrite was a highly prized material, often used for luxury vessels in the Middle Kingdom. The monkey was also often used as a decorative motif on cosmetic containers. As J. Bourriau explains in Pharaohs and Mortals, Egyptian Art in the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge, 1988, p. 142, "In the Middle Kingdom, monkeys are found almost exclusively as decoration on anhydrite bowls and kohl pots. They appear frequently in domestic scenes in tomb reliefs, showing that they were kept as pets, but they were also erotic symbols, which might explain their association with eye paint and other cosmetics". The application of cosmetics had a sensual and erotic connotation for the Egyptians.
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