<em>Bundle of Hair Extensions</em>, 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)

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)

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

Is it fair to call this a weave?

Absolutely! Hair dressing was ritualized and elaborate in Ancient Egyptian high society. These extensions would have been woven into a wig.

How are you able to date the wigs and extensions in the from ancient Egypt?

In the case of the particular extensions on view, carbon-14 testing was done to determine the age of the hair. Other than scientific testing, context--like styles of pottery and tomb decoration--can be used to estimate a date.

Is this real hair?????

Absolutely! Hair dressing was ritualized and elaborate in Ancient Egyptian high society. These extensions would have been woven into a wig. If you look to the relief carving right above you can see scenes of hairdressing!

Where did they get the hair from?

Extensions were sometimes horse hair, or other natural fibers. The highest quality wigs and extensions were, of course, human hair; though, I’m not sure whose hair it was.

So these Egyptian hair extensions are--I think--braided? Does this mean that Egyptian women in fact wore their hair this way?

Yes! Braiding was a common hair treatment and has even been seen on mummies with locks of hair preserved.

Queen Neferu's hair is cool. Can you tell me about it?

Extensions would be made out of several different materials, including horse hair and even human hair, which is what the extensions we have are made of.

Thanks, that was cool.

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)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.2042.25Ea-c

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

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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