Kohl Container
5th-6th century
Medium
Glass, blown technique
Dimensions
12.3 × 5.5 × 4.5 cm (4 7/8 × 2 1/8 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
personal grooming / hygiene / cosmetic container
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
62061
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Glass containers like this one were used to store kohl, a mineral compound used to dramatic effect to darken eyelids and eyelashes. Containers for cosmetics were fashioned out of a variety of materials in addition to glass, including metal, ivory, bone, and wood. In his writings, the third-century church father Saint Clement of Alexandria (d. 215) mentions white lead, charcoal, and even the “droppings of crocodiles” as common ingredients for cosmetics, although he must be regarded as a hostile w...
About the Artist
Byzantine
"Byzantine" is the collective attribution given to anonymous artists working within the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, whose creations spanned from the 4th to the 15th centuries, primarily in Constantinople and its cultural sphere. These masters produced a vast body of art that defined an era, with museums like the Walters Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago cataloging numerous works un...