Cosmetic Vessel

Cosmetic Vessel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Small jars in anhydrite, a pale blue stone, were used during the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period to store cosmetics, ointments and perfumed oils. Like many possessions used in everyday life, they became part of the burial equipment in order to provide for the needs of the deceased in the afterlife.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cosmetic VesselCosmetic VesselCosmetic VesselCosmetic VesselCosmetic Vessel

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.