Visitors to Siena this weekend will be able to compare their own efforts to keep young, healthy and beautiful with those used by the ancient Egyptians.
A show opening here Saturday highlights the hugely important role that cleanliness and good looks - helped along by cosmetics - played in the life of the Egyptian civilization. Rich people would usually wash or bathe before dressing and women used to massage themselves with perfumed oil. Both men and women used cosmetics including lip colours, eye
shades and face powder.
The exhibition is entitled 'Igiene e bellezza nell' antico Egitto' (Hygiene and Beauty in Ancient Egypt) and it runs at Siena's Santa Maria dela Scala complex until September 17. Organizers say the ancient Egyptians attached so much importance to physical appearance and cleanliness because it was an indicator of social status.
The exhibits on show in Siena reveal how the ancients would have made up and worn their hair at religious ceremonies and the creams and lotions they used every day to stay healthy and take care of their skin. Some 70 finds loaned from Florence's National Archaeological Museum are on display. These include mirrors, make-up palettes and mortar-and-pestle sets, jewellery and funeral masks.
Organizers have even reproduced authentic ancient Egyptian remedies, perfumes and cosmetics on the basis of ancient texts and archaeological evidence. One section is devoted to illustrating how they produced perfumes and the materials they used. Others focus on hair-care, styles and dyes, and how the Egyptians treated dead bodies for funeral ceremonies.
The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the Aboca Museum of Sansepolcro and the Tuscany Archaeology Superintendent's Department. The Italian public is fascinated with the ancient Egyptians, so the show is expected to be a hit. Italy also has a strong tradition in the study of ancient Egypt.
Italian archaeologists have been making important discoveries about ancient Egypt since the 19th century and Turin plays host to one of the biggest and most important Egyptology museums outside Cairo.
