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Palm Column Kohl Tube

Creator Name

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Unknown

Cultural Context

Egyptian

Date

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Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt

About the work

Curationist LogoCurationist Object Description
Both men and women in Ancient Egypt lined their eyes with kohl. However, kohl was an expensive cosmetic, worn primarily by elites.

In the New Kingdom, glass kohl sets shaped like flaring palms became a popular accessory. Glassworkers styled the vessels to resemble papyrus columns, an architectural element of Egypt.
Walters Art Museum Object Description

The Egyptian learned from their Near Eastern neighbors how to make glass. At first they imported the raw material and processed it in Egypt, but soon they learned how to produce it by themselves. This core-formed glass kohl tube, is datable to the 18th Dynasty. Originally there would have been a long thin glass applicator for the kohl as well. The palm column shape was quite common for glass kohl tubes. The body of the vessel is composed of translucent bright turquoise colored glass and the surface polish is in excellent condition. The flaring palm top is outlined in dark yellow glass and the opening of the vessel is outlined in opaque white glass. The neck of the tube is ...

Work details

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Title

Palm Column Kohl Tube

Creator

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Unknown
Egyptian

Worktype

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Beauty supplies
Glasswares; vessels

Cultural Context

Egyptian

Material

glass

Dimensions

4 5/16 x 1 1/2 in. (11 x 3.9 cm) (h. x diam.)

Technique

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Language

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Date

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Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
ca. 1390-1213 BCE (New Kingdom, late 18th-19th Dynasty)

Provenance

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1914 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Style Period

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Rights

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CC0; GNU Free Documentation License

Inscription

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Location

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Subjects

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Vessel; Cosmetics; Kohl; Papyrus; Column

Topic

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Egypt

Curationist Metadata Contributors

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Amanda Acosta

All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Unknown, Palm Column Kohl Tube, circa 1390-1213 BCE. Walters Art Museum. In the New Kingdom, glass kohl sets shaped like palms became a popular accessory. CC0.

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