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Cats Eyes and Eye Make Up
The ornamented eye is ubiquitous in ancient
Egyptian art. Hardly a portrait exists without an impeccably dark,
outlined eye. Disembodied decorated eyes (the Eye of Horus) serve
as amulets. Should an artist wish to indicate that a cow, for
instance, is no mere bovine but a divinity in disguise, this too
is indicated, not by a halo, but via eye makeup. And not just any
eye makeup. There is a very specific, consistent style that even
today has become a virtual shorthand to evoke the mysteries and
glamour of old Egypt.
All for good reason: pharaohs, fashions,
architecture, even gods, evolved and changed in Egypt yet the
depiction of the ornamented eye remains consistent through the
history of independent Egypt. It may even pre-date what we
consider to be Egyptian: prehistoric palettes have been unearthed
bearing traces of malachite, the material used to decorate eyes
for centuries thereafter.
Among the themes periodically revisited in this
column is the necessity of viewing the concept of cosmetics with a
fresh (or rather perhaps with an ancient) eye. Today the typical
perception of cosmetics is as a triviality, a luxury, solely for
ornamentation. A necessity for some, yes- how many women claim to
feel "naked" without their makeup- yet serving no other
purpose than physical enhancement. This perception was not shared
by our ancient ancestors and predecessors. For them there was
nothing haphazard about facial ornamentation. Masters of the
holistic, ornamentation for purely abstract physical appeal was
inadequate. Enhancement of beauty for aesthetic and seductive
purposes was a goal, but intertwined and inseparable from that
goal were spiritual, magical and therapeutic intents. In the past,
we've examined the therapeutic potential of Egyptian eye makeup,
this month let's explore the magical and spiritual possibilities.
Ironically, despite the consistency of depicted
eye makeup, we cannot know definitively whether these were
realistic depictions. In the manner of modern fashion magazines,
much of Egyptian art is highly idealized: the bodies consistently
slender yet shapely, the hair never disheveled but always well-coiffed,
the makeup perfect- never a smudge or an uneven line. Art for the
ancient Egyptians was not merely portraiture: beyond idealized
images, colors, numbers and symbols were utilized to deliver
messages and offer prayers.
The reality is that it is difficult and
time-consuming to reproduce the "ancient Egyptian look"
using only the original materials. Modern makeup artists wishing
to create the "Cleopatra look" tend to utilize modern
products: liquid liner, sharp, pointy kohl pencils. (Remember,
real kohl is a powder.) True, it is very possible that the ancient
had techniques we haven't figured out. Yet, a hint that the images
in art may not have been the sole reality emerges upon examination
of the "gilded mummies" excavated at Bahariyya. The
faces painted upon these mummies do attempt realistic portraiture.
Consistently, they display realistic kohl-ringed eyes, rather than
the sharp, stark geometic lines of classical Egypt. This makeup is
dark and smoky and recognizably the same look seen among
traditionalists throughout the Middle East and North Africa today.
No doubt, it was a familiar look in ancient Egypt as well.
Purchase some kohl and with only a little bit of practice, the
look of the gilded mummies can be yours as well.
So why the consistency and endurance of the
traditionally ornamented eye? What did it mean to the ancients? We
can only surmise. No documented explanations exist, at least not
yet. (Oh, for the lost manuscripts of Alexandria!) Perhaps
something so ancient and implicit in a culture would never have
been made explicit anyway. However, one key we can observe is the
feline connection.
Although cosmetically-enhanced Egyptian eyes are
often described as "almond" the lines are in fact
exactly like those of a cat. Cats, both domestic and wild, small
and large, bear the characteristic black outlined eyes, often with
long straight line emerging towards the ears. This can be observed
well on many house cats but is especially clear on lions and
cheetahs, both animals familiar to the Egyptians. It is possible
to presume that through this emulation, the ancients were also
enhancing their link to the essence of the cat.
We can also conjecture based upon the practices
of other traditional peoples, both known and unknown to the
ancient Egyptians. Up until recently, the Matzes people of the
South American rainforest have emulated the jaguar and in an
attempt to absorb that animal's power, grace and beauty, decorate
their bodies and faces, down to the insertion of artificial
whiskers into women's faces. On the western edges of Africa, in
Benin, among cultures believed to have had ancient contact with
Egypt, the leopard is revered as ancestral totem and in a sense as
role-model and protector.
A wide variety of cats were revered in Egypt. In
particular, there were several feline goddesses. Some came
exclusively in cat form, like Sekhmet. Hathor, protector of women,
matron of perfume, cosmetics, the epitome of beauty, sometimes
takes the form of various wild cats. Among Hathor's titles, to
further this link, is "Lady of Malachite", a material
used extensively for eye ornamentation. Perhaps by adorning the
eye with malachite one assumed some of Hathor's feline essence.
Both Hathor and Sekhmet also bear the epithet, "Eye of Her
Father" indicating their vigilant and fiercely protective
natures. Cats represented the bounty of life to the Egyptians.
Despite the too-common stereotype of ancient Egyptians as fixated
on death, it was their love and enthusiasm for the good life,
which stimulated their desire to prolong it for eternity. And
indeed it is Hathor, as Lady of the West, who guarded the
threshold between life and death, greeting the worthy. Cats
represented beauty, prosperity, grace, fertility, the ability to
protect one's loved ones, the capacity to enjoy life. Even today,
the root of the word feline is related to fecund, fertile and
female.
The connection between cosmetics and cats is
most explicit in the goddess Bastet, whose epithet is Lady of the
Unguent Pot. The promise of the unguent pot exists today: whenever
we contemplate a new cream or cosmetic, whose advertising suggests
that it will banish wrinkles, cellulite or crow's feet. Beneath
that suggestion is the implication that the potential outcome of
using the product is not merely a nice-looking eye but true love,
self-satisfaction and happiness. These wistful hopes would be
recognized by the ancients as well.
Bastet was once among the most revered and
popular goddesses of all. Her image was popular as an amulet.
Women, in particular newlyweds, commissioned images of Bastet
surrounded by specific numbers of kittens, the number intended to
correspond with the number of babies wished for by the woman.
If the kittens represented children, then Bastet
paralleled the woman herself. And in a stylish pantheon (unlike
say Greek Hephaestus), Bastet is among the most stylish of all,
often depicted in a fashionable dress, carrying her kittens in a
cute eye-catching basket. It is very tempting to visualize an
ancient Egyptian woman carefully decorating her eyes,
concentrating upon incorporating that feline essence into her very
being. Not just women either- remember that the Egyptians did not
genderize makeup. Men too outlined their eyes. Bastet's son,
purveyor of human fertility, has a lion's head as does a great
percentage of Nubian gods. The masculine Eye of Horus was as
protective as the feminine Eye of her Father. We can observe
makeup's origins as related to the protective talismanic tattoos
and henna, all born in ancient Egypt. Perhaps the lesson to be
learned is this: rather than rushing through one's makeup in the
rear-view mirror or quickly and carelessly at home, it might be
beneficial to contemplate as we apply our carefully-drawn lines
what qualities we would like to internalize as we ornament the
external. Makeup as a vehicle for affirmation, prayer and
petition- this is the common ground we can find with the ancients.
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