Fig. 4: Alabaster and steatite cosmetic spoon in the shape of a swimming girl holding a gazelle, New Kingdom, reign of Amenhotep III, ca. 1390–1353 BCE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Whether this mythological meaning is correct or if the image of a young female, as in so many other toilet objects, merely represents fertility and possibly re-birth remains a matter of debate. Other examples of these spoons show swimmers also holding different forms of containers, such as a young gazelle (a creature also associated with young women), a cartouche, or lotus flower. Unfortunately, most of the spoons came from excavations that were not recorded and found their way into museums and collections where they were thoroughly cleaned, so little information about their usage can be gleaned from them. One similar spoon with the household god Bes in the British Museum is recorded as having contained fat or ointment.

Certainly, there is no argument about their importance as they were finely crafted, often out of exotic and precious materials such as ivory, ebony, and cedar, as well as out of faience, Egyptian alabaster, and steatite. Many of these spoons have heads sometimes made of other materials that are glued on or socketed into the bodies.  They were often painted and sometimes had inlaid decoration. While most of these appear to have come from tombs given their excellent state of preservation, the head of one spoon was found at the palace of Amenhotep III at Malqata (fig. 5), indicating that they were also used in domestic contexts.

Whatever their original exact meaning and symbolism, the swimming-girl spoons have retained an appeal across time and space. The form gained popularity beyond Egypt’s borders, as swimming girl spoons have been found in Cyprus and Rhodes (fig. 6). In the Nubian 25th Dynasty (ca. 772-665 BCE), the form was revived with spoons being found in the royal cemetery at Kurru and Sanam (fig. 7).

In more recent times, the spoons were also widely illustrated in early European books on ancient Egypt (fig. 8), creating a new vogue for them as Victorian bibelots (fig. 9). In the end, they do indeed have a sort of re-birth significance.

Peter Lacovara is Director of The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund.

Further Reading:

A. P. Kozloff and B. M. Bryan. 1992. Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World (Cleveland Museum of Art), pp. 331–334.

P. Lacovara. 2021. A swimming girl spoon from Sheikh Farag. In Up and Down the Nile – ägyptologische Studien für Regine Schulz (Zaphon).

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