<em>Lady Tuty</em>, ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E. Wood, gold leaf, 10 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (26 x 4.8 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.187. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.187_front_PS2.jpg)

Lady Tuty, ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E. Wood, gold leaf, 10 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (26 x 4.8 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.187. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.187_front_PS2.jpg)

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On the Lady Tuty sculpture, what is the thing that looks like a cone on her head?

The cone represents a perfumed cone that wealthy Ancient Egyptians would wear on top of their heads at special occasions. The cones melted into their wigs and clothing thus giving off a fragrance.

What is the cone on top of this statue's head/wig?

The cone represents a solid perfume that would have been worn on special occasions and feasts. Similar to today's solid perfumes, it would be made using wax with natural fats or oils. This perfume cone would be placed on the head, where it would melt and release a fragrance.

How cool is that? I wonder what it smelled like! Was it a cosmetic thing or a religious thing?

The scents would have come from spices and other natural substances like myrrh, cardamom, scented woods, cinnamon, etc. Perfume was associated with the god Nefertem who was also the god of healing, so we think that perfumes may have been seen as medicinal as well as cosmetic.

Wow, that's so cool! Thanks for sharing!

Lady Tuty

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

Lady Tuty’s statuette, along with the adjacent figure of Lady Mi, was discovered in a communal tomb at Medinet Gurob. The style of Tuty’s sculpture is more traditional than that of Mi: the figure is slimmer and the fringed dress is depicted in a plainer, heavier fabric. Certain elements—such as the big gilded earrings and the faint traces of gilded sandals—associate her with the extraordinary wealth of Amunhotep’s time. The cone on her head represents a type of perfumed ointment worn by the wealthy at banquets and other opulent occasions. The cone gradually melted, releasing its fragrance over the hair and clothes.

MEDIUM Wood, gold leaf

Place Excavated: Medinet Gurob, Egypt

DATES ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period

DIMENSIONS 10 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (26 x 4.8 x 14 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 54.187

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Lady Tuty, ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E. Wood, gold leaf, 10 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (26 x 4.8 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.187. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.187_front_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE front, 54.187_front_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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