Egyptian Alabaster rare inscribed double kohl tube, New Kingdom, Circa 1539-1077 BC
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The kohl container we are looking at, with a double container for the make-up, probably supports the Egyptian duality, and was used for ritual purposes. On the front we see a woman with a short wig and a necklace holding a lotus flower, one of the most widely used narcotic drugs in ancient Egypt, in addition to its known aphrodisiac functions in the ancient world.
Kohl is a cosmetic made from a mineral called galena, greyish in appearance, which when ground and mixed with other minerals results in a kind of ash. This cosmetic was used for two reasons, ritual and ornamental, women would wear make-up, make-up and wigs during rituals, and even on a daily basis.
Similar items
We can find a very similar example in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and which was published in the book The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt, Allen, James P. 2005. “Kohl Tubes.” , edited by James P. Allen and David T. Mininberg. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 19, no. 4.
