Coptic kohl vessel

This greystone square shape vessel was used to hold kohl. Along the sides, a design of what is said to be temples.

This piece was sold at an auction by a Private East Coast collection, via the Palmyra Heritage Gallery in New York City, and dates from between the 2nd and 5th Century A.D.

Kohl has been worn traditionally since the Naqada III era (c. 3100 BC) by Egyptians of all social classes, originally as protection against eye ailments. There was also a belief that darkening around the eyes would protect one from the harsh rays of the sun.
Ancient Egyptian women wearing kohl, from a tomb mural in Thebes (1420–1375 BC)

Galena eye paint (later termed Kohl in Arabic from the Akkadian word for the cosmetic) was widely applied in Ancient Egypt. Upper eyelids were painted black and lower ones were colored green, as depicted in ancient texts that describe the use of both black galena and green malachite. Ancient graves from the pre-historic Tasian culture point to the early application of galena in Egypt, a custom stretching from as old as the Badarian culture through to Greco-Roman era. Although found locally, both black galena and green malachite were also imported from nearby regions in Western Asia, Coptos, and the Land of Punt.

The 18th Dynasty female Pharaoh Hatshepsut would also grind charred frankincense into kohl eyeliner. This is the first recorded use of the resin.The frankincense itself had originally been obtained during an expedition to the ancient Land of Punt in this New Kingdom dynasty (c. 1500 BC). Cosmetic ingredients such as cinnamon bark and other spice components – used for fragrances – alongside copper kohl sticks were exported from Tamraparni (ancient Sri Lanka) towns Pomparippu and Kadiramalai-Kandarodai to ancient Egypt.

Read more about Ancient Egypt’s transition to Christianity here.