Provenance:
Mrs. Scharrelmann, Germany, acquired in the 1980s.
Plakas Auction, London, Property of a European Lady Collection, 22 April 2022, Lot 135.

Ornate open-face dishes in animal form were likely ritualistic in nature, to be used in a temple or tomb setting. Although this object is classified as a cosmetic dish it could have alternatively functioned as a spoon. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that after the Opening of the Mouth ritual, mummies were able to eat again and were offered food. Some Egyptologists have suggested that dishes such as this example were not cosmetic, but actually utensils used to feed the dead.

For comparative examples, see J.V. d’Abbadie, Catalogue des objets de toilette égyptiens-Musée du Louvre Département des Antiquités Egyptiennes, Éditions des Musées nationaux, Paris, 1972, and Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey (Inv. no. y1949-18).