Tutankhamun Fashion and Makeup: Egypt's Boy-King Tut

Egypt's boy-king Tut had the finest cosmetics, unguents and perfumes available. His portraits show him wearing the striking eye makeup common to his time and place. The eyeliner defines his eyes and his eyebrows are often extended.

The famous funerary gold mask that covered his mummified face has eyebrows painted to extend as far as the lines of the eyeliner, creating parallel lines toward his temples. Artists then as now often created stylized images, so it isn't possible to know how close the mask or other portraits come to his actual appearance and makeup style. The young king probably wore lip color as well.

A cosmetic jar found in his tomb has a detailed carving of a lion on its lid, and still bore traces of resins from vegetables and animal fat, according to Zahi Hawass's book, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.

 A reconstruction of how the young king might have looked includes thick black eyeliner and large ear piercings. The boy king's fine features and full lips give him an androgynous appearance. He would have worn a wig over his shaved head.

Tut's History

Tutankhamun might not have been a particularly celebrated king if it wasn't for the discovery of his sealed tomb. The gold and skillfully-worked artifacts in his rich burial captured the world's imagination. He took the throne of Egypt at about age eight and died at 18. This New Kingdom ruler reigned in the 18th Dynasty, from c. 1332 to 1323. His reign seems to have been unremarkable.

He was the son of Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh who may have been succeeded by his wife, Nefertiti. In 2008 Discovery News reported Hawass's find of an image and inscription in stone referring to Tut and his wife as children of Akhenaten. The discovery confirmed that the young king grew up in el Amarna. Pharaoh Akhenaten became infamous for overthrowing the pantheon of  Egyptian gods and introducing monotheism to Egypt.

In his own time, Tut might been best known for rejecting the heretical religious changes of Akhenaten and restoring the original gods to their former status. The boy-king married the third daughter of Akenaten and Nefertiti, Ankhsenpaaten, his half-sister.

The sight of gold in the sealed tomb captivated people from the moment it was opened in 1922 and still draws crowds to Tut exhibits. Because so many tombs have been looted throughout history, this was a rare find.

The tomb contained jewelry, furniture, statues, chariots, a royal nesting sarcophagus, the young king's mummy and other priceless artifacts. The chests that contained the royal wardrobe, from baby clothes to underwear, remained unexplored for decades. The young king's cosmetic supplies from the tomb have been included in books and exhibits.

The legend of a curse associated with the tomb added to Tut's mystique. Inside the elaborate coffin, the detailed gold mask rested over the face of the young king's mummy. The mummies of two fetuses believed to be stillborn children of the boy king were also found in the tomb and toured with the Tut exhibit.

Art from his time shows him with bronze skin, even, attractive features, dark eyes and a medium build. Based on reconstructions of garments found in his tomb, the young king had a 31-inch chest, 29-inch waist and 43-inch hips, the Guardian reported.  These measurement indicate he had the same wide-hipped figure Akhenaten appears to have had, based on images from the time.

Tut's Fashion and Makeup

In accordance with the ancient Egypt fashion for men, Tut wore artfully applied makeup. Kohl surrounded the boy king's eyes from the inner corner of the upper and lower lid with the eyeliner extending at least a half inch from the outer corner of each eye in a single line, based on images of him from his lifetime in Zahi Hawass' "Tutankamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs."



King Tut is often shown wearing a shenti, the kilt that was one of the main garments for men. In some portraits he wears a long linen robe. The clothing from his tomb included tunics, many of them beaded or adorned with gold, finely woven loincloths, sandals, socks designed with a space next to the big toe to wear with the sandals, sashes and sleeves designed to look like wings.

Royal linen for undergarments and outer wear was often fine to the point of transparency, revealing the body and keeping the king cool in Egypt's desert climate. Expert weaving and tailoring went into Tut's garments. One elaborately woven tunic would have taken months to complete. The New York Times detailed some of these finds in an interview with Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, a textile archaeologist who first examined the the king's garments in 1991.

Based on images from his lifetime, he wore the crowns of upper and lower Egypt and the nemes, the distinctive striped headcloth exclusive to pharaohs depicted in his gold funerary mask.

One of the young pharaoh's headdresses features the uraeus, the cobra in position to strike with its hood open. Tut's jewelry included a detailed pectoral with a heart scarab and the elaborate wide, jeweled collars that adorned wealthy men. The collars rested on their bare skin when they wore only a shenti, or on the linen of a robe or shirt.

Eye makeup for men may have served a protective function, protecting their eyes from Egypt's bright sun. In art, the men are generally shown as tan and most women as lighter skinned, probably because the men spent more time outdoors.

The boy king's gently arched eyebrows were probably also enhanced with kohl. This natural form of eye makeup is still available. Natural kohl is free of chemicals, isn't tested on animals, and no models were starved to promote it -- probably not, anyway.

Ancient Makeup:

The ancient Egyptians ground  galena or malachite on stone palettes and applied it with a kohl pencil made of stone, wood or bone, or with their fingers, the Canadian Museum of Civilization notes. The dark lines around the eyes reduced glare and sun exposure and the cosmetics had antibacterial properties. A component of copper in the makeup was particularly protective, according to Michael Shanks, archaeologist. He states that they covered the upper lid in green and the lower in white.

They used mirrors when they applied cosmetics, often made of polished metal with a figurative handle, such as a goddess. The mirrors were usually made of copper or bronze alloys, and there were some silver mirrors in the Middle Kingdom, Barbara O'Neil notes in "Reflections of Eternity."

Rouge from red ochre enhanced the cheeks and lips, and they wore oils on the skin. Animal fat worked to bind cosmetic powders. Cosmetic supplies and mirrors were included in men's tombs as well as women's. Art often depicted women looking into mirrors, but not men, O'Neil observes. The elite class in had much greater access to cosmetics than the common people.

King Tut, et al by Mai Le via Flickr

Contemporary Men in Makeup

Boy George made a lasting impression with his creative makeup  featuring bright colors, drawn-on eyebrows and pale base. Prince, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson and others performed in dramatic makeup. Male goth musicians and their followers often wear makeup, especially black eyeliner.

Boy George Poster by Annie Mole via Flickr

Makeup is a regular part of a performer's life, from  news anchors to gender-benders. Makeup enhances the features and defines the eyes and mouth for appearances on stage, TV or in film. The lighting used on performers can create a washed-out appearance if no makeup is applied, so the use of makeup on men is standard procedure.

Male models wear makeup, and some create an androgynous or feminine appearance. The strikingly attractive Andrej Pejik models both male and female fashions. Pejik created a sensation walking the runway in Gauterier's bridal gown.

In day to day life depending on your location, you might see makeup on male baristas at your local coffee bar, male students at a university, on street performers such as mimes, clowns and musicians,  and on average guys who have embraced products such as bronzer and lip products, and on anyone, just for fun.

Updated December 4, 2013. All rights reserved. 

References: 

Princeton University: Tutankhamun
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Tutankhamun.html

"Tutankamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" Zahi Hawass

Canadian Museum of Civilization: Mysteries of Egypt: Clothing and Adornment
http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/egypt/egcl06e.shtml
 
Stanford University: Michael Shanks -- Archaeologist: History of Artificial Beauty: Ancient Origins and a Lasting Paradigm 
http://documents.stanford.edu/67/630

Egyptological: "Reflections of Eternity: An Overview on Egyptian Mirrors from Prehisory to the New Kingdom"; Barbara O'Neil