Cosmetic Dish in the Shape of a Trussed Duck

ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.

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Object Label

This delicately carved duck, bound and plucked as if for a food offering or an extravagant meal, functioned as a container for a cosmetic. The oval depression in the surface of the dish was originally covered with a separately carved lid in the shape of the duck’s body.

Caption

Cosmetic Dish in the Shape of a Trussed Duck, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.. Wood, 1 3/4 x 9/16 x 4 3/16 in. (4.5 x 1.5 x 10.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.610E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.610E_front_PS11.jpg)

Title

Cosmetic Dish in the Shape of a Trussed Duck

Date

ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 18 (probably)

Period

New Kingdom

Geography

Reportedly from: Saqqara, Egypt

Medium

Wood

Classification

Cosmetic

Dimensions

1 3/4 x 9/16 x 4 3/16 in. (4.5 x 1.5 x 10.7 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.610E

Rights

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.

Frequent Art Questions

  • What was the purpose of this piece?

    This is a cosmetic dish. It has been carved in the shape of a trussed duck. You're seeing the bottom of the dish. The top is a smooth bowl that would have originally been covered by a top carved to look like the back of the duck.
    Thank you!
    You're welcome! Ancient Egyptians often wore cosmetics including eye kohl, as well as wigs! You can see a few other cosmetics containers, as well as hand mirrors, in the Egyptian galleries.

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