two spoons with character

the metropolitan museum of art : gift of helen miller gould, 1910
www.metmuseum.org

Two cosmetic spoons, a tubby mouse and a relaxed dog, were fashioned of bone by a skillful hand in Egypt around 1150-1295 BC. These are tiny things: the dog spoon is only 3 13/16 inches long and a quarter inch thick, yet full of presence.  I marvel at how the linear and formula-driven art of Egypt frequently created such personable works. Once upon a time these little fellows held colored pastes for eyeliners or lip colors.  What fun it would be to have compacts that looked like these!