Bundle of Human Hair

Bundle of Human Hair

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

These hair extensions would have been placed in a tomb for use in the afterlife. In this world Egyptians used extensions to make their wigs or natural hair thicker and more attractive, just as people do today. The reliefs in this case show hairdressers adding extensions like these to the hair or wig of Queen Neferu. The date for these extensions is based on carbon-14 analysis, a method by which scientists use radioactivity to determine an object’s age.

MEDIUM Human hair, linen

DATES ca. 2114-1502 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late VI Dynasty - early XVIII Dynasty

PERIOD Old Kingdom - early New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS Diam. 2 5/8 x 7 1/16 in. (6.6 x 18 cm)

Brooklyn Museum

broklynmuseum.org