Ivory Unguent Box of Queen Nefertari

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This lenticular box with a sharp shoulder and flat swivel lid sits on a cylindrical foot. Around the outer edge of the lid and on one of the flat surfaces for the knobs used to close the container are incised circles. The tiny figure of a hedgehog, associated with the cycle of death and rebirth, sits in front of the other knob. On the lid are the cartouches of Ramesses II and his first principal wife, Nefertari. The purpose of the box is uncertain, but it was likely used for cosmetics.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art