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Bundle of Hair Extensions

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
These hair extensions would have been placed in a tomb for use in the afterlife. In this world Egyptians used extensions to make their wigs or natural hair thicker and more attractive, just as people do today. The reliefs in this case show hairdressers adding extensions like these to the hair or wig of Queen Neferu. The date for these extensions is based on carbon-14 analysis, a method by which scientists use radioactivity to determine an object’s age.
MEDIUM Human hair, linen
DATES ca. 2114-1502 B.C.E.
DYNASTY late Dynasty 6 to early 18 Dynasty
PERIOD Old Kingdom to early New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS Diam. 2 5/8 x 7 1/16 in. (6.6 x 18 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 37.2042.25Ea-c
CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
CAPTION Bundle of Hair Extensions, ca. 2114-1502 B.C.E. Human hair, linen, Diam. 2 5/8 x 7 1/16 in. (6.6 x 18 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.2042.25Ea-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.2042.25Ea-b_PS9.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 37.2042.25Ea-b_PS9.jpg., 2020
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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