The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 31, 2023

Vessel in the Form of an Ostrich Egg

c. 1540–1296 BC

Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, 1540-1296 BC

Travertine

Diameter: 8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.); Diameter of mouth: 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in.); Overall: 8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.620

Location

107 Egyptian

Description

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. Here the fanciful form is an ostrich egg.

Provenance
Purchased in Egypt by Lucy Olcott Perkins through Henry W. Kent
Citations
Kozloff, Arielle P. Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his world. Cleveland : Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1992. Reproduced: cat. 113, p. 412
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 269; Mentioned: p. 269
Exhibition history

CMA 1916, no. 54, p. 210, pl. 339; CMA/Fort Worth/Paris 1992-93, no. 113 (entry by Arielle P. Kozloff)

Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 1-September 27, 1992); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (October 24, 1992-January 31, 1993); Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 2-May 31, 1993).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1914.620