Kohl: A timeless look

[us4-he2-gal2]

Thread Orientation: On this thread we can thank the Sumerians for there unerring taste for eye darkener

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Kohl wears Kohl and Kohl does not mean Cabbage!

Yes many of you who speak German have been secretly snickering at one of my German internet alias's, Kohl Edelweiss, the first part of which can be interpreted 'cabbage' (or as someone once insisted does mean cabbage) - nonetheless I have determined Kohl in this name indeed signifies something else other than that blandest of vegetables:

It means, šembi (šembi₂-zid) that blackish substance Sumerian men (and women) would apply under the eyes, and indeed is translated in modern times as "kohl". As can be seen in the above photo, I have engaged this very striking look in what I think might be a pretty close approximation of the original Sumerian style! I feel very ummmmm whats the word: manly.

So let's take a look at some indication that Sumerian men also wore eye darkener in ancient times, I'd really hate to be wrong about this. First I'm turning to the literature..at ETCSL we see a line:



A balbale to Inana (Dumuzid-Inana E1): c.4.08.31

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(1 line fragmentary) …… gathers ……, …… on her ears. She blends (?), she blends (?) ……. She blends (?) kohl



We see in any case that kohl (šembi) is blended. Perhaps with water and oil as the below passage states, if this blending is this same sense as in the above, this obscure passage would be more clear and the kohl for the incantation priests would almost certainly be to be applied to their eyes (and not used in some other fashion as is also possible)



Inana and Šu-kale-tuda: c.1.3.3

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(2 lines missing) (3 lines fragmentary)"He will …… its feet", he (Enki) says. Full of wisdom he adds the following words: "Raven, I shall give you instructions. Pay attention to my instructions. Raven, in the shrine I shall give you instructions. Pay attention to my instructions. First, chop up (?) and chew (?) the kohl for the incantation priests of Eridug with the oil and water which are to be found in a lapis-lazuli bowl and are placed in the back-room of the shrine.




Well the rest of the hits for kohl pertain to women applying it and the Anzu chick which isnt very helpful. Skimming Moorey's 'Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industry" I read that some literary texts indicated lead used for making kohl may have been imported from Elam in the 3rd mill. Black seems to have been the most commonly used cosmetic color, and among the indications this was used by men as well as women are shells meant to contain cosmetics which have been found in many 3rd millennium graves (containing male bodies.) The application of a dark cosmetic under the eyes would have made sense for both sexes in a hot environment where the sun could be glaring (a similar situation and practice arose in Egypt for example.)

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Still to come... Sheshki partakes in the reemergence of Sumerian eye darkener! The living Gudea statue!

[xuchilpaba]

See, we have this store called Kohl's in America. So I always associated that part of your sn with that.

I am not even joking w/ you.

Perhaps this is a eerie Sumerian coincidence? (I think it's from the German actually.)

[rose]

hm, I remember my about 475 year old geographie teacher at school charging me destroying the world's fossil fuels, cause I was (and am still) using tons of kohl...she probably really thought that was an intelligent joke >.>
however, I think coal and crude oil are still used to produce make-up, aren't they? Maybe not as an actual ingredient...

Well, what I actually wanted to mention:
In Egypt, (as far as I know) the black eye make-up was

1. useful to be able to live under the torrid sun (as mentioned before) because the black around the eyes attracts the heat and the blending effect of the sun away from them, so one can see in a better way...well, I'm not sure, whether that is an significant reason to use it, but I think I red that once somewhere at our library

2. damn it, it looked great (like it does today)

3. it was an antisepticum! Until today, flys are a huge problem in several african regions (think of the swampy nile delta 2000 BC!), cause they can cause terrible infections in the eyes, leading to blindness. Kohl, but especially the green "eye-shadow" made of MALACHITE, which was used in egypt, has (and that is evident today) an antiseptic effect.

WHAT I WANT TO KNOW is, whether there was also a use of other sorts of make-up in Ancient Mesopotamia? Is there Difference between male/female use? Or were there special uses, like in rituals? Used for special occasions or really normal as part of every day life? Was it's use depending on age or status of a person?

many maybe senseless uncalled-for questions, maybe there are no answers (yet), but I at least wanted to ask them

[ummia-inim-gina]

Dec 29, 2008 8:58:44 GMT -5 @rose said:

WHAT I WANT TO KNOW is, whether there was also a use of other sorts of make-up in Ancient Mesopotamia? Is there Difference between male/female use? Or were there special uses, like in rituals? Used for special occasions or really normal as part of every day life? Was it's use depending on age or status of a person?

many maybe senseless uncalled-for questions, maybe there are no answers (yet), but I at least wanted to ask them

Stephen Bertman on Cosmetics:

"The desire to enhance one's natural beauty and allure through the use of cosmetics and perfume is attested as far back as Sumerian times. In Ur's Royal Cemetery a number of makeup kits were found containing a variety of pigments: white and black, yellow and red, and blue and green - all intended to help the dead look their best in the afterlife. Before traveling to the netherworld, we are told, the love goddess Inanna applied an eye-liner (or possibly an eyeshadow) called "Come Hither."

"Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia" by Stephen Bertman

Relevant bibliography entries:
"Cosmetics from Ur" Bimson 1980
"Ancient perfumes and cosmetics" Dayagi-Mendals 1989



Kohl was used in wedding ceremonies as is colorfully described in the Dumuzid-Inana collection. Here is a good example of a women preparing herself for a wedding:

A balbale to Inana (Dumuzid-Inana C)
1-2. "My sister, what have you been doing in the house? Little one, what have you been doing in the house?"

3-8. "I was bathing, I was rubbing myself with soap. I was washing myself with water from the holy kettle, I was rubbing myself with the soap from the white stone bowl. I was anointing myself with good oil from the stone bowl, and dressing myself in the formal dress proper to Inana. That is how I was busying myself in the house."

9-18. "I have put lots of kohl on my eyes, I have arranged …… the nape of my neck. I have washed my dangling hair, I have tested my weapons that make his reign propitious. I have straightened my tousled head of hair, I have tightened my loosened hairgrips, and let my hair fall down the back of my neck. I have put a golden bracelet on my wrist. I have put little lapis-lazuli beads round my neck, and arranged their buttons over my neck muscles."

19-26. "Sister! I will bring you whatever you desire. I will bring the loving heart of your heart. Your goddess has given you good looks. Sister, shining bright, you are the honey of your own mother. My sister, to whom I shall bring five things, my sister, to whom I shall bring 10 things, she has perfected your appearance for you; sister, shining bright, she has really made it a delight."

[ummia-inim-gina]

Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries By Peter Roger Stuart Moorey


The only scientific identifications of cosmetic pigments at present available for Mesopotamia were made on samples of third-millennium date. The pigments used in wall-painting changed little once the repertory had been established, so there is no reason to think otherwise for cosmetics. Inspection by eye supports this view. Bimson (1980) re-investigated the cosmetics from graves in the Royal cemetery at Ur, first scientifically studied by Graham (1928; cf. Woolley 1934: 245. 248.), providing the best available range of scientific determinations. She observed that study of cosmetic shells from this context now in the British museum supported Woollys opinion that green and black pigments predominate, with blue, purple, red, white and yellow among the other colors less commonly represented. Such also was the case in Egypt (Lucas 1962: 80ff). Records of frequency have only been provided for the Early dynastic IIIB to Early Akkadian Cemetery A at Kish where the colors found, arranged in order of frequency, are black 17 times, red 5, green 5, white 3, blue 1. In none of the burials was a complete set of pigments found; there were never more than two in the same grave (Mackay 1925: 14-15). In the excavation season to which Mackay refers 38 graves were recorded; 4 cosmetic shells were recorded in only one grave (no. 24, female), 2 in fifteen graves, and 1 in two graves.
Black/Dark Brown: These pigments have been found to be particularly variable. X-ray fluorescence showed that the major elements were either manganese and iron; Manganese alone; calcium, manganese, iron and copper, or manganese and calcium; minor elements such as lead, sulphur, titanium, and zinc were also present. The color was provided by the oxides of manganese (pyrolusite). It is not certain whether there were artificial or natural mixtures, which they might be. Tosi (personal communication) has identified a workshop in Oman. where he believes pyrolusite was processed into kohl and packaged into shells for export.
Two samples tested by Brill (1970: 117 n.14) from stone vessels, excavated at khafajah and dated C.2700 BC, 'were found to contain manganese as their only major metallic component...probably in the form of the mineral pyrolusite'. A sample of dark cosmetic pigment from a pair of cosmetic shells found in the Early Dynastic III 'Plani-Convex Building' at Kish, tested in Oxford, was reported to be lead sulphide (galena)(cf. 1970; 118 n.14; Moorey 1978; microfiche; BO8). which appears to have been particularly favored in Egypt (Lucas 1962: 80-3), followed by manganese oxide. A Sumerian literary text (Stol 1989: 165-6) indicates that lead for kohl came to Sumer from Elam. As in ancient Egypt, there is no firm evidence that antimony or an antimony compound was a major constituent of eye-paint (kohl) in Mesopotamia. (cf. Lucas 1962: 81-2; Brill 1970: 117)
Blue: This is usually a pale shade of blue, commonly azurite, sometimes with a white dilutant identified by Bimson (1980: 77) as hydroxy-apatite but cerussite may have been present in others'.
Green: This again is a copper mineral (azurite/apatite/malachite) modified with a white dilutant in the form of cerussite or hydroxy-apatite (Bimson 1980: 75-6; cf, Brill 1970: 117-8 n.14)
Purple: Only one sample of this color from Ur has been analyzed; Bimson (1980: 77) identified it as almost certainly a naturally occurring ferruginous earth (haematite and quartz)
Red: This is haematite, the commonest natural red pigment (Bimson 1980: 76-7)
White: Bimson (1980: 75) did not rule out a mineralogical source but thought it most likely to be calcined bone, the commonest source of hydroxy-apatite.
Yellow: This is an ochre in one case identified as goethite (iron oxide hydroxide) Bimson (1980: 77) also examined 'a brilliant yellow cosmetic... intermingled with green; this yellow was found to contain wulfenite which is a relatively uncommon mineral and so far as is known has not been identified before in a similar context.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Excellent!


Thanks very much Xuch, Naomi, Rose and Ummia for your contributions, together we have some nice information as to the general use of cosmetics, their colors and ingredients. Still remaining is the challenge to define which sex used which predominantly (if either) and possibly whether certain cosmetics were favored by this or that temple functionary or were used regularly in certain ritual proceedings - this last information should prove the most difficult if not impossible to obtain of course.

But there it is - a challenge!

[johnalanhalloran]

I have posted a discussion of kohl here:

www.sumerian.org/evil-eye.htm

It is called: Sumerian Eye Makeup Prevented Conjunctivitis, the 'Evil Eye'

Our word 'kohl' derives from Akkadian guhlu and from Sumerian igi-hulu, which meant 'evil-eye'.