Cosmetic Spoon: The Nubian Bearer

By the mid-2nd millennium BC, Egypt was an empire, and its wealth — gold, ebony, ivory, tribute — flowed in from Nubia to Syria.

That wealth seeped into Egyptian aesthetics.

This cosmetic spoon shows you how empire felt in daily life.

Carved from a single piece of wood, it is about thirty centimetres long.

It represents a Nubian man leaning forward under the weight of a jar on his back.

The jar is the bowl of the spoon.

It would have held ointment, pigment or perfumed oil.

Look at the braided hair, the bent knees, the curve of his back under the load.

Someone used this every morning.

New Kingdom paintings show it everywhere — lines of foreign peoples, hands full of tribute.

This spoon miniaturises that world.

Empire distilled into something you hold while getting dressed.

Fun fact: the swivel lid that originally sealed the jar is missing.

It has been open for several thousand years.