Razor

Possible OriginEgypt, Africa

CultureNubian

PeriodClassic Kerma

Date1630-1540 BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions3 7/16 x 2 1/16 in., 1/8 in., 15 g (8.7 x 5.2 cm, 0.3 cm, 1/2 oz.)

Object number2018.010.1105

Label TextAncient Egyptian grooming was much like ours today but done with different tools. Wooden combs untangled hair. Razors sharpened by grinding palettes kept men and women clean-shaven. Blunt-edged tweezers plucked out unruly hairs. Oil and unguent were applied to the skin to soften hair for shaving and plucking. Kohl made eyes more luminous and protected them from disease and the sun’s glare. Kohl was stored in pots and tubes of many shapes. Once mixed with a binder, kohl was applied by kohl sticks or the fingers to help it adhere to eye rims and lashes. Bronze mirrors polished to a high sheen reflected the area to be groomed or beautified.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, March 4, 2024 - Present
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed. Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 4.

ProvenancePurchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Hotel des Ventes, Marseille, France, November 29, 1974, lot 127. Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.

Status

On view

Collections