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Palette in the Shape of a Fish | musefully
Palette in the Shape of a Fish, ca. 3400-3200 B.C.E.. Graywacke, 6 11/16 x 4 1/8 in. (17 x 10.5 cm)
. Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.611. Creative Commons-BY.
Stone palettes were used as surfaces on which to grind green or black pigments into powder. After adding a gum-like adhesive to the powder, the mixture was applied as eye makeup.
This palette represents a tilapia fish, which lived in the Nile and was emblematic of fertility. The Egyptians also ate tilapia, and it is still a popular dish today.