Cosmetic Container in Form of Trussed Duck
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 Duck, ca. 1539–1292 B.C.E.. Wood, paste, pigment, 1 3/4 × 2 1/4 × 6 3/4 in. (4.4 × 5.7 × 17.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.613E. (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 ornate wooden artifact with detailed carvings.
The artifact is a wooden object with intricate carved patterns along its edges. It features a sculpted handle at one end, suggesting it may have served a functional purpose. The carvings are symmetrical and geometric, indicating a high level of craftsmanship. The wood appears aged but well-preserved, with visible grain patterns.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 37.613E tier-2
- BKM-Object 4061 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.