Makeup palette, disc-shaped, with the silhouette of a turtle, broken in the body and reassembled, with a drilled hole. Slate was used almost exclusively as the material for the flat panels. Chronological classification: Predynastic, Negade II (also called Nagada and divided into periods I - III), 3,500 - 3,200 BC. The name comes from the Upper Egyptian city of Nagada (north of Luxor), which was the key center of political and cultural development at the time. During this phase, the expansion to the north took place, the assimilation of Lower Egyptian culture began, which ultimately led to the founding of the Egyptian state. In other words, before the construction of the great pyramids (from around 3,000 BC) and long before such well-known pharaohs as Akhenaten / Nefertiti or Tutankhamun, who ruled from 1353 - 1322 BC. The burial rites of the upper class included large burial chambers or burial grounds with considerable grave goods that were intended to provide for eternity, e.g. in beautiful ceramic vessels, but also personal objects such as make-up palettes (used by both women and men). These were used to grind and mix eye make-up (obtained from minerals). Grave goods were signs of the hope of resurrection, for which one had to be equipped with the things of everyday life, but also with luxury goods of all kinds. At the same time, it was an incentive for artisans who created their works in the awareness that they were also working for eternity. The Egyptian Museum in Munich - where the essential information comes from - has several make-up palettes that are characteristic of this era, including those designed as a fish and a turtle (Trionyx triunguis, common name: African soft-shell turtle). The form, reduced to outlines, is typical. The object has been professionally examined, provenance: from the W.K. collection (acquired there in the 1960s). At around 5,400 years old, it is the oldest art and everyday object in the collection, if you ignore the fossils. Length 16.5 cm, width 8.7 cm, height 0.6 cm. Additional reference: around 3000 BC, the constellation Cancer was known under the name Ab-Schetui (= turtle) and was later supplemented with the scarab (symbol of immortality). These simultaneously stood for the death and rebirth of the Nile flood. Finally, a quote from Ernest Renan (French historian and philosopher): "Ancient Egypt - a beacon in the dark seas of prehistoric times". [hint: this is an automatic translation from German]   |   Category: Kultgegenstände   |   Material: Stein   |   Country of origin: Luxor, Egypt | Similar pieces