Cosmetic Vessel (Beaker) (c. 1859–1814 BCE): Art, History and Details

Cosmetic Vessel (Beaker) (c. 1859–1814 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Both ancient Egyptian men and women loved cosmetics. Unguents, oils, and perfumes made from aromatic plant resins and gums were obtained at great cost from distant lands. The objects identified with cosmetics were given lavish treatment. This luxurious obsidian and gold beaker hints at the precious contents it once held.

Object facts

• Title: Cosmetic Vessel (Beaker)
• Date: c. 1859–1814 BCE
• Culture: Egypt, Middle Kingdom (2040–1648 BCE), Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat III (1860–1814 BCE)
• Type: Vessels
• Technique: obsidian and gold
• Dimensions: Diameter: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.); Overall: 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.); Diameter of base: 2.6 cm (1 in.)
• Collection: Egypt - Middle Kingdom
• Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Accession number: 1985.107

Collection credit

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Kozloff, Arielle P. “Egyptian Stone Vessels in Cleveland.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 73, no. 8 (October 1986): 327–339.
• Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.