Giraffe Head (c. 1540–1296 BCE): Art, History and Details

Giraffe Head (c. 1540–1296 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. The delicately head of a giraffe would have decorated an elaborate ivory cosmetic spoon.

Object facts

• Title: Giraffe Head
• Date: c. 1540–1296 BCE
• Culture: Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18
• Type: Cosmetic Objects
• Technique: ivory
• Dimensions: Overall: 3.2 cm (1 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Egypt - New Kingdom
• Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Accession number: 1977.146

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerald S. Brodkey in memory of Marguerite Mallon

Further reading listed by the museum

• Kozloff, Arielle P. “Guessing the Unseen from the Seen.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 66, no. 9 (December 1979): 334–346.
• 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.