Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art · vessel

Kohl Pot

Accession: 37.646Ea-b
Find spot: Egypt, Egypt approx. site location
Period: Middle Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13
Date: ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E.
Date range: 1938 BCE – 1700 BCE
Materials: ['Basalt (probably)']
Height: 4.9 cm
Width: 4.2 cm
Repository: Brooklyn Museum
At source: View original →

Cite & export

Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Kohl Pot (37.646Ea-b). Egyptian Inscriptions Database. https://egyptianinscriptions.org/object/34030

JSON →

Description

Object Label: Cosmetics and Eye Care Egyptian women and men used eye makeup for both decoration and protection. The most popular eye cosmetic consisted of ground galena, a dark lead ore, mixed with water or gum to produce a black paste called kohl. It was stored in squat containers usually made of stone. Applied to the rims and lashes, kohl emphasized the eyes’ contours and reduced sun glare, much like lamp-black worn by modern football players. This ancient cosmetic is still used as eye makeup throughout the Near East. Caption: Kohl Pot, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E.. Basalt (probably), 37.646Ea: 1 15/16 x Diam. 1 5/8 in. (4.9 x 4.2 cm) 37.646Eb: 1/4 x Diam. 1 3/4 in. (0.7 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.646Ea-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.

A small Egyptian vessel with a round lid displayed in a museum setting.

The image shows a dark-colored, small Egyptian vessel with a wide opening and a flat base, accompanied by a circular lid displayed on a stand. The artifacts are positioned against a neutral background, suggesting a controlled museum environment. The vessel’s simple form and utilitarian design suggest it may have been used for everyday purposes or had a symbolic function. The condition appears good, with visible wear consistent with age.

daily life unknown good

Materials stone

Connections

Found at Egypt

Materials Stone

Cross-references (2)

BKM-Accession 37.646Ea-b tier-2
BKM-Object 4075 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.