Kohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a Vessel

Kohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a Vessel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Egyptians' use of eye cosmetics to enhance beauty and for prophylactic purposes is well documented both in artistic representations and by the cosmetic vessels that have been preserved from the earliest times. The most common substance utilized in the New Kingdom was kohl, a dark gray powder made from galena. Kohl was frequently stored in decorated tubes with long, slim sticks made of polished wood or stone as applicators. As in earlier periods, representations of monkeys often decorated cosmetic vessels in the New Kingdom. In this example the monkey stands balanced on its tail, its left leg slightly forward and its hands clasping a kohl tube. The ears, the ridges above the eyes, the nose, and the tufts of hair on the cheeks were carved with care. The stone was covered with a thick glaze ranging in color from light to dark blue-green, but the grain of the stone is still visible, giving the impression of heavily veined turquoise.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a VesselKohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a VesselKohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a VesselKohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a VesselKohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey Holding a Vessel

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.