Kohl Container (1540–1296 BCE): Art, History and Details

Kohl Container (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:

Cosmetic vessels would have once contained scented oils or ointments used for beautifying the body, while kohl containers held the eye paint seen in many depictions of ancient Egyptians. Galena, a mineral used in eye paint, helped reflect the sun and repelled insects and tiny organisms that could cause eye disease and blindness. Cosmetics were an essential element of daily life and associated with upholding the ancient Egyptians’ high standards of cleanliness.

Object facts

• Title: Kohl Container
• Date: 1540–1296 BCE
• Culture: Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18
• Type: Cosmetic Objects
• Technique: wood
• Dimensions: Overall: 4.3 x 2.5 x 1.8 cm (1 11/16 x 1 x 11/16 in.); Applicator: 9 cm (3 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Egypt - New Kingdom
• Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
• Accession number: 1914.671

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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.