Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Object Label

Cosmetic Containers

Like us, the ancient Egyptians used cosmetics, and often for the same purposes.

Archaeologists use the term “cosmetic container” to describe a variety of Egyptian boxes that once held scented, oil-based ointments. The salves in these boxes were used by women and men to heighten sexual allure and to camouflage body odor. Orange or yellow stains seen on ancient representations of clothing and on actual surviving linen garments show how liberally such ointments were applied.

Caption

Oryx Dish, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.. Faience, 2 13/16 × 4 13/16 × 13/16 in. (7.1 × 12.3 × 2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.16. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.86.226.16_overall.jpg)

Title

Oryx Dish

Date

ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 18

Period

New Kingdom

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Faience

Classification

Accessory

Dimensions

2 13/16 × 4 13/16 × 13/16 in. (7.1 × 12.3 × 2 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

Accession Number

86.226.16

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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