I'm Back

Stone Cosmetic Palettes

I am back finally. Since my last post I have closed down my consulting firm and started a new job. I have also helped my daughter get through finals, bought a new house and moved. Other than that, things have been quiet.

I just got back from a vacation in Madrid, Barcelona and Munich. I knew there was an Egyptian collection in Munich, but was surprised to find one in Barcelona. Needless to say, I photographed both and will be sharing photos and information via posts to this blog for some time to come.

Just to start out, here are two cosmetic palettes from the Pre-Dynastic period. These palettes were used to grind and mix materials used to make cosmetics. Egyptians often wore "eye makeup" as a way of helping protect their eyes from the sun. Often these object were carved in the form of animals (the top one shown here is possibly a turtle) or in geometric shapes (the lower one seems to be a simple circle). The most famous cosmetic palette from Egypt is the Narmer Palette (now in the Cairo Museum), which is often described as commemorating Narmer's unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The palettes shown here are in the Museu Egipci in Barcelona.


Photos copyright (c) 2014 by John Freed