egyptians and eyeliner -- 12/12/23

12 Dec 2023

egyptians and eyeliner -- 12/12/23

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Today's selection -- from Eyeliner: A Cultural History by Zahra Hankir. The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with beauty and used eye makeup made from kohl, a substance derived by grinding the mineral stibnite:

“Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with their looks. They indulged in intricately designed clothing, jewelry, perfume, and makeup, and put youthfulness on a pedestal. Palettes, pumice stones, hairpins, mirrors, and applicators were likely staples of the ancient Egyptian makeup box, along with red ocher for the face and lips and kohl--in the form of sooty powder--for the eyes. Ancient Egyptian men and women across all social strata wore this early iteration of eyeliner, using it to create thick black lines around their eyes and sometimes to enhance their eyelashes and eyebrows as well.

“Beautification in the kingdom was treated as an art and a spiritual or healing ritual. People who wore kohl honored and sought protection from the gods. Ancient Egyptian art on papyrus often features the heavily lined eye of the god Horus, a symbol of prosperity and protection. Ancient Egyptians believed that eyes without kohl may be vulnerable to the evil eye, and that, by wearing it, Horus and the god Ra would guard them against illness. In hieroglyphs, the root of the term makeup artist means ‘to write’ or ‘engrave,’ while the root of makeup palette means ‘to protect.’

“When the dead were resurrected, in ancient Egyptian dogma, they were brought back to life as ideal iterations of themselves, not as the fallible beings they were when they passed. The wealthy were often buried with their prized possessions so they could look attractive in the afterlife, too; in their tombs were bags of kohl made of linen or leather alongside other essentials, such as shaving kits and jewelry. ‘Explicitly linked to physical conception in the tomb, kohl helped an Egyptian to be reborn,’ according to the Brooklyn Museum. Rebirth required conception, which required a sexual act, which required hotness--which required cosmetics. Cartonnage carvings or ‘death masks’ on ancient Egyptian tombs and coffins boasted younger versions of the departed, all with heavily lined eyes. ‘It is virtually impossible to find a portrait of an ancient Egyptian whose eyes are not decorated,’ writes Egyptologist Shokry El-Kantiry.

“Kohl had practical applications during the wearer's lifetime as well, shielding vulnerable eyes from the sun, sand, dust, and disease-carrying flies, making it a truly indispensable, multitasking cosmetic in the mostly scorching and arid desert. (Curators at the Brooklyn Museum explain that kohl's use for protection against the sun can be likened to lampblack worn by modern football players.) Kohl was especially useful in the summertime, when locals were susceptible to eye infections from the bacteria in standing waters brought by floods from the Nile--some of which could lead to blindness. Physicians would carry kohl for both themselves and their patients, sometimes in pots with compartments labeled for the different phases of the year: winter, summer, and the ‘flood season.’

“Kohl consisted of either malachite, a green ore of copper, or galena, a crystal that is the most important ore of lead. The use of malachite for kohl, known as udju, has been traced back to the earliest predynastic period. Galena preparations known as mesdemet, however, ultimately prevailed as the most widely used basis of eye paint in ancient Egypt. This could be because galena has a low melting point, making it relatively easy to smelt in order to extract its lead.

“Science partially validates the ancient belief in kohl's protective powers: In 1888, Kaddour Ben Larbey, an Algerian doctor who studied at the University of Paris's Faculty of Medicine, argued that kohl was an effective treatment for various eye infections. Two advertisements playing up the medicinal benefits of kohl even appeared in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, one in 1901 and another in 1920. In 2010, scientists discovered that the materials ancient Egyptians used in kohl likely did kill off bacteria that caused common infections, as intended. That same year, ancient Egyptian makeup samples at the Louvre in Paris were revealed to boost the production of nitric oxide, which provokes an immune response in the body. (That said, the US Food and Drug Administration warns against the use of modern kohl due to ‘high levels of lead.’ In 2021, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene distributed a public service announcement on billboards around New York City and on social media that pictured a South Asian baby whose eyes were heavily lined with kohl, warning against the dangers of lead and advising parents who've used the pigment on their kids to visit doctors for tests. In some Asian countries, lead poisoning from kohl is a serious concern.)

“The cosmetic also signaled class distinctions in ancient Egyptian society. While the wealthy were likely to wear higher-quality kohl made of galena, the less privileged used soot from materials including almond shells, sunflowers, and frankincense as a substitute. Per research by Alfred Lucas published in 1930, to make kohl, ancient Egyptians also used substances including antimony, black oxide of copper, carbonate of lead, and brown ocher. Almost a century later, a 2022 study published by Nature revealed that inorganic ingredients found in kohl were more diverse than previously thought. Of the eleven kohl samples that were studied, two were lead based, one silicon based, three manganese based, and six carbon based; the study found that a range of inorganic materials used would've also included plant extracts and animal fats.

Ancient Egyptian women wearing kohl, from a tomb mural in Thebes (1420–1375 BCE)

“To complete the kohl-making process, ancient Egyptians would grind the various components with stone or on a palette to create fine powders. The powders formed a black, grayish, deep green, or other dark-colored mixture, depending on the ingredients used. Some believe ancient Egyptians sourced galena at Aswan, a city in southeastern Egypt, and along the banks of the Nile, while malachite was retrieved from the Sinai Peninsula. Hathor, the goddess of love, joy, women, and beauty, had dominion over the area; she was so closely associated with the substance that people also referred to her as the Lady of Malachite.”