Cosmetic Spoon

Second Intermediate Period–New Kingdom

ca. 1600–1500 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

The bowl of this wooden cosmetic spoon is carved in the form of an outstretched hand holding a unionid (a freshwater Nile mollusk). At the opposite end of the long handle is a waterfowl with its head bent backward. This bird is often identified as a duck, but the long neck suggests that it might instead be a goose, associated in other examples with the earth god Geb. The spiral handle here is unusual, as most such shafts are smooth.

Once thought to be simple toilet items, "cosmetic spoons" are now thought to be ritual items rich with iconography connecting them to fertility and rites of renewal.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Cosmetic Spoon
Period: Second Intermediate Period–New Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 17–18
Date: ca. 1600–1500 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Hatshepsut Hole, Senenmut Quarry, MMA excavations, 1926–27
Medium: Wood
Dimensions: L. 20.7 cm (8 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1927
Object Number: 27.3.614
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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Handle of a Cosmetic Spoon in the Form of a Leopard, Travertine (Egyptian alabaster) — Handle of a Cosmetic Spoon in the Form of a Leopard
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.

Cosmetic set of Kohl Tube and Applicator, Razor, Tweezers, Whetstone, and Mirror, Bronze or copper alloy, stone, ivory, wood — Cosmetic set of Kohl Tube and Applicator, Razor, Tweezers, Whetstone, and Mirror
ca. 1550–1458 B.C.

Cosmetic Box with a Swivel Top, Ivory, Egyptian Blue — Cosmetic Box with a Swivel Top
ca. 1550–1458 B.C.

Mummy Board of Iineferty, Wood, gesso, paint, varnish — Mummy Board of Iineferty
ca. 1279–1213 B.C.

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ca. 1981–1975 B.C.

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