The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

A small, light blue jar in the shape of a seated figure with a tail and wearing a light reddish-brown belt. The figure has a beard and wears the skin of a leopard, painted in light yellow, draped over his back, with the leopard's head in front of his neck. The figure also wears a short rectangular headdress that serves as the opening for the jar.

Cosmetic Jar in the Form of the God Bes

664–525 BCE

Egypt, Late period , Dynasty 26

(715–332 BCE)
Egyptian blue
Overall: 9.3 x 6.1 x 4.1 cm (3 11/16 x 2 3/8 x 1 5/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1995.13
Location: 107 Egyptian

Did You Know?

Bes was the Egyptian god of many things, including cosmetics, war, and childbirth.

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. The god Bes, patron god of cosmetics, is the subject of this colorful jar.
  • 1995-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kozloff, Arielle P. "Blue Bes," Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 36, no. 1 (January 1996). pp. 4-5 archive.org
    Friedman, Florence D., Georgina Borromeo, and Mimi Leveque. Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Cat. No. 73, pp. 109 & 209
    Griffin, Patricia. "Faience: A Lost Art." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 38, no. 5 (May 1998): 8-9. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 8-9 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 Reproduced: p. 441; Mentioned: p. 441-3
  • Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 10-July 5, 1998); Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, RI (August 25, 1998-January 3, 1999); Kimbell Art Museum (January 31-April 25, 1999).
  • {{cite web|title=Cosmetic Jar in the Form of the God Bes|url=false|author=|year=664–525 BCE|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.13