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cent archaeological and provenance studies have
shown that apart from some of the earliest exam-
ples from Crete, all other known oxhide ingots
were most likely produced in Cyprus.
This ingot, property of the Cyprus Museum, is one
of only three complete examples to be found in Cy-
prus and the only one still on the island. Of the oth-
er two, one is in the British Museum and the other
is in the Cypriot collection of Harvey Mudd Col-
lege, Claremont, California. All three are believed
to have come from the Nicosia suburb of Engomi.
REFERENCES: Catling 1964, 266-268; Gale 2011,
214-218; Kassianidou 2009, 42-46; Muhly 2009.
Double juglet – clay, 10.6 cm high and 4.3 cm
in diameter (each body), from the Egyptian
18
th
Dynasty (16
th
-14
th
century BC)
Discovered in Tomb 264 in Sidmant, Egypt, and
property of the UK’s Ashmolean Museum, this
composite vessel comprises two juglets joined at
the upper body with a single bifurcated handle. It
is made of extremely hard-fired fine red-brown
clay and covered with a grey-brown polished slip.
There are two horizontal bands in relief on the
upper neck of each juglet. The shape recalls that
of an inverted poppy-capsule. These juglets are
believed to have been exported as containers of
a precious substance, either perfume or perhaps
opium in liquid form. In the case of this example,
the dried remains of the contents were found ad-
hering to the inside of the body.
REFERENCES: Merrillees 1968, 66, pl. XII: 3;
Petrie & Brunton 1924, pl. 63; cf. Karageorghis
2002a, 41, fi g. 73:4.
Comb – ivory, 7.5 cm long and 5.2 cm wide,
from the late Cypriot IIC-III period (1300-
1050 BC)
Imported elephant or hippopotamus ivory was
one of the chief luxury materials prized by Cyp-
riot elites during the late Bronze Age. It was
used to produce a wide range of objects, from
personal items such as combs, cosmetic rods,
unguent boxes and mirror handles, to furniture
fittings and finely decorated gaming boxes with
figural scenes. This taste for ivory goods also
gave rise to a local ivory carving tradition, which
combined Aegean and near Eastern motifs and
techniques – this tradition was also in vogue at
several centres across the island. Although not
intricately decorated itself – in contrast to oth-
er contemporary examples from Cyprus – this
comb (discovered in Engomi and exhibited at
the British Museum) reflects another interest-
ing phenomenon: the adoption of new or more
elaborate modes of personal grooming and
adornment by Cypriot elites. Elite groups strived
to compete with each other and with their neigh-
bours overseas through the acquisition of exotic
Double juglet
Ivory comb from the British Museum