Cosmetic jar with lid
Description
Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)
AI image analysis claude-haiku-4-5
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
A cosmetic jar with flared rim and pedestal base, carved from translucent travertine (Egyptian alabaster) with a honey-gold coloration and subtle veining characteristic of the material.
This vessel exhibits the refined aesthetic of Middle Kingdom cosmetic vessels. The form features a characteristic Egyptian alabaster cosmetic jar design: a flared trumpet-shaped rim at the top, a cylindrical body that transitions to a narrower pedestal base, creating a distinctive hourglass silhouette. The travertine material is expertly worked, displaying the natural translucency and warm cream-to-honey coloration typical of Egyptian alabaster. The surface shows subtle veining and striations inherent to the stone, with a polished finish that enhances the stone's luminous quality. The proportions and construction technique are consistent with Middle Kingdom cosmetic vessels, which typically held precious unguents and oils used in Egyptian daily life and burial contexts.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116252205 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 26.7.1440a, b tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 543956 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.