Cosmetic Container in Form of Trussed Goose
Description
Object Label: Cosmetic Containers Like us, the ancient Egyptians used cosmetics, and often for the same purposes. Archaeologists use the term “cosmetic container” to describe a variety of Egyptian boxes that once held scented, oil-based ointments. The salves in these boxes were used by women and men to heighten sexual allure and to camouflage body odor. Orange or yellow stains seen on ancient representations of clothing and on actual surviving linen garments show how liberally such ointments were applied. Caption: Cosmetic Container in Form of Trussed Goose, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.. Ivory, 2 1/16 x 4 1/4 in. (5.3 x 10.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 49.63a-b. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
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.
An Egyptian artifact shaped like a duck, carved from ivory.
This is an intricately carved ivory artifact depicting a duck. The item shows detailed notches and curves that faithfully recreate the body and wings of the bird. The piece has a smooth, polished finish, typical of skilled craftsmanship. It may have been used as a cosmetic container, indicated by its hollowed center.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 49.63a-b tier-2
- BKM-Object 3540 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- 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.