The Egyptian climate was not always the most healthful. The population of Egypt was centred on the Nile Valley, with ninety percent of its population crammed into less than ten percent of Egypt’s land area. The ideal settlement was just on the fringes of the Nile’s cultivable area; not close enough to take away valuable farm land, but not so far that access to the river was difficult. This middle ground was, however, both humid and dusty. The humidity brought insects, and the dust brought tough breathing and seeing conditions. Both were detrimental to the eyes, and eye conditions were a commonplace in Egypt. Numerous cures were proposed, including concoctions of honey and even dung, but the most popular fix was a preventative measure. Kohl, lead or antimony sulphide, was painted around the eyes. It was believed to protect the eye from a range of maladies. However, both lead and antimony are poisons, and kohl probably caused more trouble than it solved.

In antiquity, lapis lazuli was only known from one mine, at Sar-e-Sang in northern Afghanistan. The route was dangerous and arduous; it is mined in the Kokcha Valley, from nearly-sheer cliff faces of jagged rocks, sometimes as little as 200 metres wide. When Lieutenant John Wood of the British Army ventured to the lapis mines, trying to find the source of the River Oxus, he reported back to his superiors that ‘if you do not wish to die, avoid the Valley of Kokcha’. It is no wonder, then, that lapis lazuli was highly prized by the ancients. The fact that it shows up in Predynastic Egypt at all is nothing short of a miracle, needing to travel some 4,000 miles to its final destination. It is testimony to the long-range trading routes of the ancient world, stretching across the Fertile Crescent – the arc of land in which civilisation began in the Near East – from Egypt to the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, a little known people (also called the Oxus Civilisation) which inhabited the north of Afghanistan.

Lapis lazuli is famed for its blue colour, but actually comes in a range from greenish-grey to blue, depending both on the relative proportions of the three major minerals – lazurite (blue), sodalite (baby blue), pyrite (gold) and calcite (white) – that make it up, as well as the amount of sulphur in the lazurite. This remarkable vessel is carved from a lapis at the greyer end of the spectrum, with a delightful speckled texture. Despite some damage to the surface of the lapis, it still sparkles. The vessel is globular in form, with the most extraordinary rounded shape. This reflects considerable skill on the part of the sculptor, who would have had to drill out the inside in stages. A sizeable shoulder reaches to a vertical rim. The shape corresponds to Petrie’s number 482 (Petrie, W. M. F. (1937) The Funeral Furniture of Egypt, with Stone and Metal Vases. London.), and occurs frequently throughout the Predynastic in a variety of stones.

The stone vessels of the Predynastic Period were mostly tomb artefacts, which were designed for longevity compared to the pottery vessels of daily life. However, some especially fine stone vessels were made for use during life, by a person of some significance. This lapis vessel most likely held cosmetics, perfumes or oils, all three of which were considered essentials in Egypt’s dusty and humid climate. Kohl protected the eyes, or so the Egyptians thought, from insects, the glare of the sun, and the dust. Perfume protected the patrician noses of the elite from the odours of everyday life. And oils were essential for keeping the skin supple and hydrated in the intense heat of the Egyptian sun.