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Comb with Gazelle
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Both ancient Egyptian men and women loved cosmetics. Unguents, oils, and perfumes made from aromatic plant resins and gums were obtained at great cost from distant lands. The objects identified with cosmetics were given lavish treatment. The luxurious obsidian and gold beaker hints at the precious contents it once held. Others are fanciful in form, such as an ostrich egg. The god Bes, patron god of cosmetics, himself is the subject of a colorful jar. The delicately carved human face and the head of a giraffe decorated elaborate ivory cosmetic spoons.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineComb with Gazelle, c. 1391–1353 BCE. Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE). Wood; overall: 5.4 x 5.7 x 0.4 cm (2 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Jean-Luc and Véronique Chalmin, 1995.90
