Kohl Tube and Applicator

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This small kohl tube is made of bright blue Egyptian faience with gold mounts around the base and rim. A stick of hematite serves both as the closure for the tube and an applicator for the powdery cosmetic that would have been stored inside. Both the quality of the piece, and the use of gold indicate that it belonoged to a person of importance. This is confirmed by the the inscription on the side of the vessel which reads: Greatest of the Five, Djehutymose. The title "greatest of the five" was held by the high priest of Thoth at Hermopolis. In ancient Egypt, men as well as women used cosmetics and wore jewelry. For examples of this, see the collection of facsimile paintings (copies of wall paintings in Egyptian tombs - for example, 30.4.144); the cosmetic box of Kemeni (26.7.1438); and the jewelry of Wah (40.3.1).

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