The 'Brummer' Duck-Shaped Cosmetic Vessel

This vessel, carved in the form of a wild duck, would have served the purpose of a cosmetic vessel or ‘toilet spoon’. Comprised of three individual sections, the head is attached to the base with a collar of bone, and the movable lid is secured by a bone pin. The top of this lid is also decorated around the edge with small rectangular bone plaques. On the underside of the base there is an ‘ankh’ carved in low relief, the ankh being a symbol of life, and as such was also used as the hieroglyphic symbol for life giving substances such as air and, in the case of this duck, water.