The vessel is finely carved with a flat base and gently flaring cylindrical body with flat everted rim Condition: Partially worn foot, minor chips on the rim of the lip....
Jean Sigrist Collection, Basel, formed in the 1960s and 70s
With Galerie Nefer, Zurich, 2006 Swiss private collection
Exhibitions
On Loan: Antikenmuseum Basel & Sammlung Ludwig, 1998 - 2022
Literature
Used by both men and women of all social classes, the Egyptians believed kohl held vital medicinal, magical and religious qualities. Kohl was not just used to ward off physical ailments, but also ailments of the spiritual kind. Kohl was made primarily from galena or lead sulphide, which was ground onto a palette and mixed with oils or animal fats. The kohl was then stored in beautiful, variously shaped small vessels and applied using a thin kohl stick. See W. Flinders Petrie, The Funeral Furniture of Egypt with Stone and Metal Vases, London, 1977. For the form, see A. El-Khouli, Egyptian Stone Vessels Predynastic Period to Dynasty III, nos. 469-272; B. Aston, Stone Vessels, 1994, p. 105, no. 36.
Publications
A. Wiese, Ägypten – Augenblicke der Ewigkeit: unbekannte Schätze aus Schweizer Privatbesitz, Mainz, 1997, p. 81, no. 47B.