Even today, more than ninety percent of Egypt’s population is crammed into less than ten percent of its land area. This is the Nile Valley, the thin strip of green which cuts a swathe through the unforgiving desert which hems it in on all sides. This outstandingly fertile area was the key to success for Egypt’s riverine civilisation. Renewed every year with organic material brought along the vast river from the jungles of Central Africa, the banks of the Nile were among the most productive agricultural areas in the entire ancient Mediterranean. The ideal settlement was on the fringes of this cultivable area: not close enough to take away from the valuable farmland, but not so far away that access to the life-giving waters was hindered. This middle ground, however, was both humid and dusty, and hardly the most healthful environment. Insects – many of them vectors of disease – thrived in the humidity, while the winds coming in off the desert brought with them sand and grit which made the air heavy. These tough conditions were especially harsh on the eyes, and ophthalmological complaints were commonplace. Numerous cures were proposed – Egyptian papyri record treatments ranging from honey to animal 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 eyes from a range of maladies. However, since both lead and antimony are poisonous, kohl may well have caused more problems than it fixed.

Various tools were used in the production, storage and application of kohl from the earliest times in Egypt. The all-pervasive use of kohl means that, even from the earliest times, objects relating to cosmetic use are among the commonest finds. An important part of the Egyptian cosmetic bag was the palette, a flat stone implement on which powdered kohl was ground and mixed with water, before then being poured into a vessel for storage and application with a reed brush. These palettes became highly decorated, and perhaps the earliest masterpieces from Egypt – the Two Dogs Palette (Ashmolean Museum AN1896-1908 E.3924) and the Narmer Palette (Egyptian Museum, Cairo CG 14716) – were both designed for make-up. While these objects could be large and impressive, befitting higher-ranking owners, smaller and more mundane palettes were used by private individuals to mix their own kohl. Most often, they were presented in the form of animals; for the Egyptians, almost all animals were sacred, considered the earthly avatars of gods, or the dangerous symbols of demons.

This remarkable palette takes the form of a turtle. Like most of the fauna of early Egypt, the three-clawed turtle (Trionyx triunguis) can no longer be found in the Nile Valley, having retreated south to the less populated areas of Sudan. There is ample evidence that Predynastic Egyptians hunted such turtles for their meat, and they continued to remain in the diet of elite Egyptians well into the Old Kingdom. Far from being food, turtles also became important ingredients in ancient medicine. The Great Eber Papyrus records turtles as ingredients in hair-removal concoctions, and reports their use in treating eye complaints. But Egyptian views of turtles were ambivalent; while delicious, turtles (Egyptian shetyw) were associated with disorder and chaos, perhaps thanks to their shady underwater life (their name literally translates as ‘the mysterious one’), and the fact that they crossed the boundaries between the water and the land. Turtles, then, were associated with the eyes, but also with the ambivalent nature of life along the edge of the Nile. This turtle is of a clear type paralleled throughout the Predynastic. The nearly-circular shell forms the main grinding surface. The shoulders of the turtle are flattened, and provide a sharp edge against which the griding implements could be scraped for cleaning and so kohl would not be wasted. Four little feet, with well-defined toes, poke out from under the edge of the shell. The neck is long, and terminates in a dart-shaped head, with two round open eyes. The evidence similar palettes now in the British Museum (EA37931) and University College London’s Petrie Museum (UC15774) indicates that they eyes of this palette may well once have been inlaid, giving them a lifelike quality.

References: similar turtle palettes are known from major museum collections in London (British Museum EA37931, Petrie Museum UC15774), Boston (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 03.1478), Montreal (Musée des beaux-arts Montréal 1954.B.3), Brussels (Musées royaux d’art et d’histoire E.2190 and E.2837).