<em>Undecorated Kohl Jar with Lid</em>, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (4.5 x 4.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 14.609a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.14.609a-b_erg456.jpg)

Undecorated Kohl Jar with Lid, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (4.5 x 4.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 14.609a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.14.609a-b_erg456.jpg)

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What gives this its lovely color?

The shiny surface is the result of glazing, and the blue pigment is probably copper based!

This object is made of a material called faience, which you've probably seen all over our Egyptian galleries. Faience is made of a quartz based paste that can be formed into shapes using molds, and then fired.

Understood. Thanks so much!

Were any cosmetics preserved from Ancient Egypt?

Sometimes traces of cosmetics remain in containers or on palettes. One of the most common examples is kohl, which ancient Egyptians used to line their eyes. It was made from grinding a mineral known as stibnite.

Undecorated Kohl Jar with Lid

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Kohl, still in use in parts of the world today, was a black eyeliner worn by both men and women in ancient Egypt. It had multiple purposes—highlighting the eyes, reducing the glare of the sun, and repelling flies. When used as a cosmetic, kohl made the wearer more sexually attractive. Explicitly linked to physical conception in the tomb, kohl helped an Egyptian to be reborn.

MEDIUM Faience

Place Excavated: Sawama, Egypt

DATES ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 1 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (4.5 x 4.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 14.609a-b

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Undecorated Kohl Jar with Lid, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (4.5 x 4.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 14.609a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.14.609a-b_erg456.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.14.609a-b_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 9/6/2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What gives this its lovely color?

The shiny surface is the result of glazing, and the blue pigment is probably copper based!

Understood. Thanks so much!

Were any cosmetics preserved from Ancient Egypt?