Beauty and cosmetics in ancient Egypt

Common card · No. 491729

Beauty and cosmetics in ancient Egypt included pigments for the eyes, face and body, oils, ointments, aromatic resins, and the tools used to prepare, store and apply them. Toilet equipment included cosmetic palettes, jars, kohl tubes, applicators, mirrors, combs, hair accessories and jewellery. These products were used for body care, makeup, scenting, protection of the skin and eyes, and the ritual preparation of the dead. Their ingredients could be mineral, plant-derived or animal-derived. Analysis of twelve residues from eleven containers in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, published in 2022, identified inorganic ingredients based on lead, manganese or silicon together with vegetable oils, animal fats, conifer resin and beeswax, combined in different proportions among the samples. Men, women and deities were represented with painted eyes, wigs, jewellery and other forms of personal adornment. In the daily service of Egyptian temples, divine statues were washed, dressed, adorned...

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