You’ve seen the scene a dozen times in movies, from The Thief of Bagdad to Lawrence of Arabia. The camera zooms to the weathered face of the Arab hero and his fierce, penetrating eyes, which have been made even more mysterious by being heavily outlined with black kohl. You have to admit…that generous use of kohl makes the men look very handsome.
But kohl is not just the domain of men. Both sexes have used kohl for a variety of purposes since 5,000 BC. Cultures across Africa, the Middle East and Asia are known to have used kohl, including the Romans, Phoenicians, Indians, Japanese, and Chinese. It is believed that the Egyptians were the first to use kohl. The wooden bust of the Egyptian boy King Tutankhamen on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has kohl laden eyes. And where would Cleopatra have been without her heavily kohl-lined lashes?
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I first encountered kohl containers (or makhalah) in Al Hamidiyeh souq in the heart of Damascus in summer 1987. After the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, Damascus was my first encounter with the Arab world’s souqs. I was captivated by this grand covered souq with every commodity available for sale. Everywhere there were copper plates and pots, Persian rugs, jewellery, food, clothing, marquetry for which Syria is renowned, and the buzz of the traders eager to make a sale. I was sucked into the frenzy and bought my very first marquetry box inlaid with rosewood and brass. The baksheesh came in the form of a gift, a beautiful silver kohl container. While I have since lost the lid in six international moves, the silver container remains part of my collection, which has been added to by subsequent visits to the souqs of Riyadh, Jeddah, Najran, Khamis Meshyet, Sana’a, Salalah in Dhofar and Nizwa in Oman’s Interior. These unique little containers formed the beginnings of my silver Bedouin jewellery collection as I dipped my toe into the jewellery and culture of the region which was simply intoxicating.
Kohl is widely believed to have antiseptic properties, particularly in desert climates where dust and sand can irritate the eye easily. It is also supposed to keep flies at bay and, in some cultures, it is believed to ward off the evil eye, particularly with newborn babies. Perhaps more practically, it also works to reduce sun glare, which is why football players often paint black patches under their eyes.
Chemically, kohl is a powdered sulfide, such as galena or antimonite. On the Arabian Peninsula, carbon from burned frankincense is also used. The powder is mixed with oil derived from fat tailed sheep and applied to the inner rim of the eye with a tiny ivory, wood or metal stick, which is usually attached to the cap of the container holding the kohl mixture.
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In the 1980’s most of the people selling antique silver in the souqs, aside from the Saudi Bedouin women, were the Yemenis who traded easily and freely between the neighboring countries who had an amicable relationship up until the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the first Gulf War, when the situation changed dramatically for Yemenis within the region. I lived here during this era.
In the early days of my collecting, silver kohl containers were readily available. Not so much now, except for knockoffs of the older designs. The Yemenis were the silversmiths of the region and back then it was easier to collect these pieces, which are no longer widely found, except in private collections for the most part.
© Brid Beeler. All rights reserved.
The kohl containers themselves vary in height, the quality of the silver, generally circular in shape, with different designs depicting the different Yemeni regions they hail from. But not all kohl containers are made of silver. They can be found made of copper, glass, malachite, bone, ivory, horn, wood, gourd, reed, textiles, and beads, depending on the country of origin. These small containers are often quite elaborately decorated and are exquisite little works of art in their own right.
© Brid Beeler. All rights reserved.
I purchased my silver kohl containers in Saudi Arabia and in Sana’a Yemen and the cow horn and camel bone kohl containers from an Afghan Pashtun trader from Khyber. The camel bone kohl container has a wooden stick as the needle used for dipping in the kohl container and the needle is swept along the inside edge of the eye lid from the inner corner to the outer while the eye remains closed.
© Brid Beeler. All rights reserved.
The beaded gourd Kohl containers I purchased in the Yemeni Tihama region. The beaded fabric kohl container I purchased in Salalah in Dhofar in the Sultanate of Oman. The exquisite silver kohl applicator on a chain I purchased in 1990 in Nizwa Souq in the Interior of Oman.
© Brid Beeler. All rights reserved.
For thousands of years Kohl has played its role and relationship with the people of the region and kohl containers tell a fascinating story. They are deeply personal items, which were treasured by their owners and deserve to be recognized for their artistic and cultural significance…they are also just incredibly addictive for the collector.
About the Author: Brid Beeler first went to live in Saudi Arabia in 1989 and stayed for a decade. Her career then led her to live and work in Yemen and Oman and work for some of the world’s top travel companies. She currently heads Brid Beeler Travel (www.bridbeelertravel.com) and travels in and out of the Kingdom regularly on tour or collaborating on programs. She has traversed every corner of Arabia and is never happier than delving into the culture and treasures of the peninsula.
Brid began taking American travelers to Saudi Arabia in 1998 and, in addition to operating tours, she has trained guides, worked on award-winning documentaries, and written extensively on the region. In 2015, she was the Tour Director for the Smithsonian tour to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, which followed their internationally acclaimed Roads of Arabia exhibit.
She has presented papers on eco-tourism in the Middle East region and was one of only a handful of women invited by the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation & Development and the Supreme Commission for Tourism to speak at the first International Conference on Eco-Tourism in Saudi Arabia in 2002. She has written for Foreign Affairs and the Arab British Chamber of Commerce. In addition, she has published travel articles in Middle Eastern newspapers and spoken on Middle Eastern travel at embassy functions in Washington DC. A strong proponent of Middle Eastern art, culture and traditions, she has spoken on the ethnic silver jewelry of the Arabian Peninsula at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle.
Back home in Ireland, Brid enjoys walks on the beach with her latest saluki, Rishan.