Kohl and mineral cosmetics
Kohl y cosmética mineral
- Date
- c. 3500 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Naqada and Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt
- Credited to
- Predynastic Egyptians
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Galena (lead sulphide) and malachite ground on schist palettes and mixed with fat to line the eyes. Besides its aesthetic function, it protected against sun glare and, through its lead salts, had an antibacterial effect.
What it led to
- A cosmetics industry with containers, applicators and trade in minerals (Red Sea galena)
- Ceremonial palettes (Narmer) that became a medium of royal propaganda
- Laboratory chemistry: Egyptians synthesised laurionite and phosgenite through controlled reactions
- Cosmetics as a marker of status and part of funerary ritual
Built on
- Pigment-grinding palette
- Palaeolithic ochre
Made possible
- Perfumery and essence extractionc. 1200 BCE
- Polished copper mirror
- Ophthalmic pharmacopoeia