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Ointment Vessel

A work made of travertine (egyptian alabaster).
Public Domain

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  • A work made of travertine (egyptian alabaster).

Date:

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (about 1550-1295 BCE)

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

Perfumes and fragrant ointments for soothing the skin were an important part of beauty routines in Egypt’s hot, dry climate. Like the sometimes costly cosmetics they were designed to contain, these elegant vessels were desirable luxury goods, made in varied forms from an array of materials. The shallow bowl here was used for scented ointments and is embellished with a pomegranate-shaped handle. Regarded as a fertility symbol because of its numerous seeds, the pomegranate became a popular decorative motif in ancient Egyptian jewelry and other objects associated with beauty.

Status

On View, Gallery 50

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Ointment Vessel

Place

Egypt (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1550 BCE–1295 BCE

Medium

Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)

Dimensions

17.1 × 11.2 × 3.1 cm (6 3/4 × 4 7/16 × 1 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1894.991

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/128012/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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