Palette in the Shape of a Fish
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Object Label
Stone palettes were used as surfaces on which to grind green or black pigments into powder. After adding a gum-like adhesive to the powder, the mixture was applied as eye makeup.
This palette represents a tilapia fish, which lived in the Nile and was emblematic of fertility. The Egyptians also ate tilapia, and it is still a popular dish today.
Caption
Palette in the Shape of a Fish, ca. 3400–3200 B.C.E.. Graywacke, 6 11/16 x 4 1/8 in. (17 x 10.5 cm) . Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.611. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.07.447.611_NegE_print_bw.jpg)
Title
Palette in the Shape of a Fish
Date
ca. 3400–3200 B.C.E.
Period
Predynastic Period, late Naqada II - early Naqada III Period
Geography
Place excavated: El Ma'mariya, Egypt
Medium
Graywacke
Classification
Dimensions
6 11/16 x 4 1/8 in. (17 x 10.5 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
07.447.611
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.
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