A team of Chinese scientists has discovered what they believe is 2,700-year-old cosmetics stored in an ornate bronze jar sealed for millennia.1
Miniature bronze jar 小銅罐 (Spring-Autumn)
Bronze | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) | Excavated from M49, East Zone I, Liujiawa Site, Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province, 2017 | Collection of Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. 青铜｜春秋（公元前770一前476年）｜2017年澄城刘家洼遗址东|区 M49出土｜陕西考古博物馆藏
The vessel is small and exquisitely crafted, with a lid and a straight mouth. The lid and the vessel are fitted together with interlocking handles. The top of the lid is decorated with a coiled dragon pattern, and the upper part of the vessel is decorated with a kui dragon pattern, with two dragons facing each other as a group, for a total of two groups. The lower part is decorated with string patterns and three rows of pendant scales. The mouth diameter is 5.5 cm and the overall height is 5.9 cm.2
M49 in the eastern section of Liujiawa is a tomb of a noble of the first rank, containing over 230 burial objects (sets). The scientists spent years analysing the chemicals after discovering the grave at the Liujiawa archaeological site in Chengcheng county in the northwest Chinese province of Shaanxi, which was capital of the Zhou Dynasty vassal state of Rui (700-640 BC).3 One exquisite bronze jar among the burial objects, containing residues of calcium carbonate monohydrate (most likely from a stalactite in limestone caves) and ruminant animal fat (beef?), is considered to be the earliest physical artefact of a male face cream discovered in Chinese archaeology.4
The tomb’s funerary furnishings included a set of bronze weapons identifying the deceased as a man of aristocratic class, and the ornately decorated bronze jar which was placed in the outer coffin near the man’s head. Just over two inches high, the vessel is u-shaped with two handles and a lid. The lid was still snugly sealed. Although we have no idea on what occasions the Liujiawa nobleman might have used the face cream, it should be regarded a precious item, as it was important enough to be put into a grave.
Similar bronze jars have also been found at the Liangdaicun cemetery,6 and archaeologists have hypothesised that they held cosmetics, but it could not be confirmed scientifically. The discovery of a sealed jar made it possible to analyse the contents to determine whether they were indeed cosmetics.
All photos taken at Shaanxi Archaeological Museum Mar 2024, unless otherwise noted.
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Footnotes:
- Items in the banner photo:
(L) 龙纹小罍 Miniature bronze wine vessel (lei) with dragon decoration
Bronze | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) | Excavated from M300 at Liangdaicun Site, Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, 2009 | Collection of Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. 铜｜春秋（公元前770一前476年）｜2009 年韩城梁帶村遗址 M300出土｜陕西考古博物馆藏
(R) 窃曲纹罐 Bronze jar with interlinked curves decoration
Bronze | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) | Excavated from M27 at Liangdaicun Site, Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, 2006 | Collection of Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. 铜｜春秋（公元前770一前476年）｜2009 年韩城梁帶村遗址 M27出土｜陕西考古博物馆藏
↩︎ - Museum information card
Miniature bronze jar 小銅罐
Bronze | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) | Excavated from M49, East Zone I, Liujiawa Site, Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province, 2017 | Collection of Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. 青铜｜春秋（公元前770一前476年）｜口径5.5、通高5.9厘米｜2017年澄城刘家洼遗址东|区 M49出土｜陕西考古博物馆藏
器型小巧、制作精美，有盖，直口，盖、器贯耳相对扣合，盖顶饰盘龙纹，上腹部饰夔龙纹，两首相对为一组，共两组，下部饰弦纹及三排垂麟纹。口径5.5、通高5.9厘米。
↩︎ - The History Blog, Ancient Chinese face cream made of beef fat, stalactites. https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/60842
When the jar was opened in laboratory conditions, it was found to contain lumps of a yellowish-white material. The substance was analyzed with a variety of technologies including mass spectrometry, X-Ray diffraction, isotope analysis, acid extraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed that the white particles consist primarily of monohydrocalcite (MHC) while the yellowish element was a lipid. MHC is mostly found in lake deposits or caves, and the isotope values pointed to the latter. Analysis of the fatty acids in the lipid sample identified it as ruminant animal fat, likely bovine.
↩︎ - Alice Yan, “Chinese scientists discover skin whitening cream for a man from 2,700 years ago“, SCMP, Published: 7:00pm, 20 Mar 2021Updated: 7:00pm, 20 Mar 2021. https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3126208/chinese-scientists-discover-skin-whitening-cream-man-2700-years
Who doesn’t love to take the load off, sit down with a soothing cosmetic face mask and turn on the latest trending Netflix show.
As it turns out, our ancestors may have enjoyed a similar activity – without Netflix, of course.
A team of Chinese scientists has discovered what they believe is 2,700-year-old cosmetics stored in an ornate bronze jar sealed for millennia.
In 2017, the team found the cream in the grave of a nobleman from the Spring and Autumn period (771 – 476BC), a largely feudal time that paved the way for the Warring States period of Chinese history.
↩︎ - Miniature bronze jar with stylized animal decoration 变形兽纹小罐
Bronze | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) | Excavated from M300 at Liangdaicun Site, Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, 2009 | Collection of Shaanxi Archaeological Museum. 铜｜春秋（公元前770一前476年）｜2009 年韩城梁帶村遗址 M300出土｜陕西考古博物馆藏
↩︎ - Museum information card
刘家洼东|区M49为士一级贵族墓葬，随葬品总计 230余件（组）。随葬的1件精致青铜小罐，其内残留物，经分析有一水碳酸钙和反刍动物油脂，被认为是目前中国考古发现最早的男性面霜类化妆品实物。梁带村墓地也发现有关相似的青铜小罐，功能可能相似。
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