Hippopotamus-Shaped Cosmetic Palette

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Hippopotamus-Shaped Cosmetic Palette

Artist Unidentified

Period Predynastic Period (Ancient Egyptian, about 4,500–3,100 BCE)

Place of OriginEgypt

DatePredynastic Period (about 4500-3100 BCE)

Dimensions2 3/4 × 6 3/8 × 1/8 in. (7 × 16.2 × 0.3 cm)

Mediumgreywacke

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.176

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextThis greywacke cosmetic palette, carved in the form of a hippopotamus, is an early example of Egyptian personal grooming tools. Palettes like this were used to grind and mix malachite or other minerals into cosmetics, typically for eye paint. While practical in function, these palettes also carried significant symbolic value. The hippopotamus, though a dangerous animal, symbolized fertility, protection, and rebirth, associated with both Taweret, a goddess of childbirth, and Seth, the chaotic god of the desert.Published ReferencesLuckner, Kurt T., "The art of Egypt, Part I," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 14, no. 1, Spring 1971, p. 5, repr. fig. 3.

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich. Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art. Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 28, repr. (col.) p. 10, 28.

Exhibition HistoryCincinnati Art Museum; Brooklyn Museum, Mistress of the house, mistress of heaven: Women in ancient Egypt, 1996-1997, no. 23e, p. 80, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.