Face from a Cosmetic Spoon (1391–1353 BCE): Art, History and Details

Face from a Cosmetic Spoon (1391–1353 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 delicately carved human face would have decorated an elaborate ivory cosmetic spoon.

Object facts

• Title: Face from a Cosmetic Spoon
• Date: 1391–1353 BCE
• Culture: Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE)
• Type: Cosmetic Objects
• Technique: ivory
• Dimensions: Overall: 4 x 2.3 cm (1 9/16 x 7/8 in.)
• Collection: Egypt - New Kingdom
• Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Accession number: 1988.7

Collection credit

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (February 1989): 30–75.
• 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.