The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Palette in the Form of a Fish

c. 3500–2950 BCE

Egypt, Predynastic

(5000–2950 BCE), Naqada II–III (3650–3000 BCE)
graywacke
Overall: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.)
Bequest of Elizabeth M. Skala 1989.32
Location: 107 Egyptian

Did You Know?

This fish shape is one of the most common for Egyptian cosmetic palettes.

Description

Stone palettes were used for grinding eye paint worn for cosmetic purposes and to protect against sun glare and eye infections. There were two types: green, made from malachite (copper ore), and black, made from galena (lead ore). As funerary items, these ores may have had a deep significance for the deceased as symbols of regeneration and rebirth: the rich soil of the banks of the Nile (black), and the lush vegetation it sustained (green).
  • Said to have been in the collections of Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie and John Garstang. Purchased from Peter Scharrer, New York
  • E. H. T. “The Year in Review: Selections 1989.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 2 (February 1990): 38–78. Reproduced: p. 52; Mentioned: p. 66, no. 7 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 2 archive.org
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Mentioned: p. 115-116; Reproduced: p. 115, color p. 42
  • The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).
    CMA 1990, no. 7, illus. p. 52
  • {{cite web|title=Palette in the Form of a Fish|url=false|author=|year=c. 3500–2950 BCE|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.32