Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep II (1425–1400 BCE) / c. 1427–1401 BCE
Paint Box of Vizier Amenemope
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Paint Box of Vizier Amenemope as tools and equipment (Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep II (1425–1400 BCE) · c. 1427–1401 BCE).
Painting was a popular and time-honored pastime among the upper classes in Egypt.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this tools and equipment as boxwood with inscription inlaid in Egyptian blue.
The museum's collection notes: This paint box was made in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. It includes five pots of color, each made of different minerals. Conservators identified the pigments using X-ray diffraction, a process that helps them determine the minerals that make up each color. The paint box belonged to a man named Amenemope (say: ah-men-em-oh-pee) who advised the pharaoh (king). He probably used it for fun, and it may have been buried with him when he died. The coffin panel on view nearby was made for a different man named Amenemope hundreds of years later. Imagine you are painting a picture for a king! Which colors would you use? What would you paint?
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPaint Box of Vizier AmenemopeOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.