Toiletries from Burials of Early China and Neighboring Cultures

Toilet boxes from burials of early China contain collections of items that can be informative about the private and, occasionally, the personal lives of individuals.  The mirrors, combs, hairpins, tweezers, and cosmetic powders that are often found enclosed in these boxes were essential to daily routines of bodily maintenance and beautification, and point to some of the ideals of beauty in early China, which find support in the pictorial record.

This lecture will introduce toiletries found in Warring States Period through Han Dynasty burials (5^th c. BCE – 3^rd< c. CE), and also consider similar sets found at sites along the Han empire's western periphery.  Through such items, we can begin to discern some of the more mundane dimensions of everyday life for individuals of these early periods, and understand how contact and exchange may have played a role in the development of beautification practices among the early Chinese and their neighbors.

This is a public event.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.