Physician's Box
1 of 5
Object Label
The ancient Egyptians, like their modern counterparts, suffered from eye diseases called ophthalmias that could lead to blindness. Because ophthalmias are transmitted by flies, they occur primarily in the summer when the insects are most abundant in Egypt.
This box belonged to a physician who treated seasonal eye diseases. Each of the three compartments contained a powder for one of the seasons of the Egyptian year—winter, “inundation” (flood), and summer. The hieroglyphs on the exterior state that the summer powder remedied “running ophthalmia.”
Caption
Physician's Box, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. or later. Wood (ebony?), 2 1/16 x 2 15/16 x 1 1/4 in. (5.3 x 7.5 x 3.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.77. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Physician's Box
Date
ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. or later
Dynasty
Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13
Period
Middle Kingdom
Geography
Place made: Egypt
Medium
Wood (ebony?)
Classification
Dimensions
2 1/16 x 2 15/16 x 1 1/4 in. (5.3 x 7.5 x 3.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
Accession Number
16.77
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