Unguent Vessel

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodMiddle Kingdom

Date1980-1760 BCE

MediumCalcite (alabaster)

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions4 3/16 x 2 3/8 x 2 3/8 in., 205 g (10.6 x 6 x 6 cm, 7 1/4 oz.)

Object number2018.010.801

Label TextThe ancient Egyptians placed great importance on smelling good. Unguents and perfumed oils played a role in their daily and spiritual life. Resins and flora macerated and steeped in wine, animal fat, or vegetable oil were rubbed onto the skin. Homes were censed with kyphi (myrrh, juniper berries, incense, cypress, and camphor wood mixed with resin and aromatics) to purify the air. Perfumes were worn to mask bad odors.

Unguents and perfumes were stored in jars. Vessels with slightly tapered bodies closely resemble the bas-jar hieroglyph used in the ancient Egyptian words for unguent and ointment. Upon death, these items were placed in small wooden caskets and buried with the dead for their eternal use.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed. Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 5.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Jean-François Mignon, Aix-en Provence, France.

Status

Not on view

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