Beauty Standards
What counted as beautiful, where, and who decided. Kohl and wigs in Egypt, the Greek canon of proportion, fuller figures prized in Tang China, blackened teeth and redrawn brows in Heian Japan, coiffure as social language across West Africa, scarification, henna, tatau and moko, cranial shaping in Mesoamerica. Then lead white and Venetian ceruse, the corset and the campaigns against it, cinema and the pin-up, pageants and the protests outside them, the modelling industry, dieting, cosmetic surgery, injectables, and the filtered face of the present. It carries the harm as part of the record: the poisonings, the bound feet, the mercury in lightening creams, the findings and who made them. Beauty standards are not one story told from one place, and the archive is built so that the comparison is visible. Where a claim is contested it is attributed to whoever made it.
A chronological documentary of 2,458 moments spanning -2500–2026 on Loreline.
Curated by Olivier · last updated 2026-09-20
Eras
- Wigs, Egyptian wigs and the sidelock of youth, Roman hairpieces, and the wig as an object of status rather than concealment.
- Antiquity, Cosmetic palettes, mirrors, tweezers and razors from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, and the canon of proportion that tried to fix beauty as a ratio.
- Kohl, Kohl and its containers across Egypt, Nubia, the Islamic world and South Asia, used as eye paint and, in its own sources, as protection against sun and infection.
- Tang, Chinese ideals across the Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing: the fuller figures prized under the Tang, court dress, and the painted and sculpted evidence for them.
- Coiffure, Hair as a social language: West and Central African styles that record age, marriage and rank, combs and headrests, and the braiding traditions that carried across the Atlantic.
- Portraiture, Portraits as the record of what an era wanted to look like, from Fayum panels and Roman busts to European painting.
- Cranial, Deliberate cranial shaping and dental inlay in the Maya world and beyond, begun in infancy and carried for life.
- Heian, Japanese standards from the Heian court onward: ohaguro blackened teeth, hikimayu brows shaved and redrawn high on the forehead, long straight hair, and the Edo bijin-ga prints that followed.
- Footbinding, Chinese foot-binding, the lotus shoe, the anti-binding campaigns, and the prohibitions of 1912 and 1949.
- Scarification, Scarification and cicatrisation as marks of belonging, initiation and beauty, documented as practices rather than as types.
- Documentation, Films, lectures, investigations and journalism about beauty standards and the industries built on them.
- Cosmetics, The cosmetics industry: brands, packaging, the department-store counter and the advertising that taught people what to want.
- Ceruse, Lead white, Venetian ceruse, belladonna eye drops and arsenic complexion wafers, sold as beauty and documented as poison.
- Henna, Henna and mehndi across North Africa, the Arabian peninsula and South Asia, applied for marriage and festival and read as a mark of celebration.
- Injectables, Fillers and botulinum toxin, and the regulatory findings on both.
- Skincare, The skincare industry, its packaging and its claims.
- Corsetry, Stays, corsets and tight-lacing, the rational-dress and reform movements that argued against them, and the medical claims made on both sides.
- Salons, Hairdressing and barbering as trades, the salon as a room, and the tools of both.
- Dieting, Slimming advertising, weighing machines and diet products, and the health claims made for them.
- Surgery, Cosmetic surgery from its reconstructive origins in the First World War to elective practice, and the complications recorded in the medical literature.
- Moko, Maori moko and moko kauae, carved rather than punctured into the skin, and their revival after a century of suppression.
- Cinema, Studio-era publicity, the pin-up and the magazine cover, and film as the machine that made a face famous.
- Tatau, Polynesian tatau, the Samoan pe'a and the Marquesan traditions, and the missionary pressure that nearly ended them.
- Empire, Colonial and missionary pressure on adornment, the imposition of a European ideal, and what survived it.
- Reform, Dress reform, Black is Beautiful, fat acceptance and body neutrality, and the critiques made of each.
- Lightening, Skin lightening as a market: the advertising, the mercury and hydroquinone content, and the regulators who have acted on it.
- Pageants, Beauty pageants as an institution, their international spread, and the protests against them including Atlantic City in 1968.
- Models, The modelling industry, the agencies, the runway, and the supermodel era.
- Gerewol, The Wodaabe Gerewol in Niger, where men paint their faces, whiten their teeth and eyes, and are judged on their beauty by women.
- Natural Hair, Hair texture discrimination and the movements against it, including the natural-hair movement and the CROWN Act.
- Filters, Camera filters and editing apps, the face they produce, and the research on what that does to the people using them.
- Filters, Camera filters and editing apps, the face they produce, and the research on what that does to the people using them.
- - Man s Head with Curled Wig. During the Old Kingdom, the tombs of courtiers and officials were usually placed near the pyramid complex of their monarch. These tombs, called mastabas, typically contained one or more statues representing the deceased official, members of his family, and perhaps his servants. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Head of a Man. This excellently worked head once belonged to a statue of a dignitary, but is now broken off at the neck. The head displays attention to detail both in the treatment of the facial features and in the careful indication of the tight curls forming the owner's wig. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Inlaid box for cosmetic vessels of Sithathoryunet MET DP311779. Inlaid box for cosmetic vessels of Sithathoryunet, the daughter of Pharaoh Senusret II, of the Middle Kingdom. Held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- - Kohl pots Florence 02. Various kohl pots, unknown provenience, Middle Kingdom. Florence, Museo archeologico nazionale, Room 1.
- - Bust of a Queen Wearing Royal Headdress. This was once part of a statue showing a seated queen wearing the vulture headdress associated with queens as well as goddesses such as Isis and Hathor. The 30th Dynasty saw the revival of Middle Kingdom motifs, such as the wig with large curls and the large ears. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Standing Woman. While she wears a fashionable wig, this woman's own close-cropped hair can be seen at the forehead as well as on the sides of her neck. Her graceful proportions are set off by her elongated arms and emphasized hands and feet that are characteristic of Middle Kingdom sculptures. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Intef Seated on the Ground. This statue shows its owner, Intef, seated cross-legged on the ground. He rests upon a small platform, wearing a shendyt which covers his entire lower body including the feet.
- - Greywacke statue of a woman, Dynasty 13 (1794 1648 BCE), Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge An idealized
- - Sesostris Standing. Sesostris wears a short tripartite shendyt and a curled wig. He has lost his traditional attributes-the staff in the left hand and the scepter in his right. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Egyptian cosmetic set. An ancient Egyptian cosmetic set, dating to ca. 1550-1458 BC and including, from left to right, a kohl tube, a razor, a whetstone, a pair of tweezers, and a mirror. Held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- - Palm Column Kohl Tube. The Egyptian learned from their Near Eastern neighbors how to make glass. At first they imported the raw material and processed it in Egypt, but soon they learned how to produce it by themselves. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Egyptian Kohl pot with traces of palm oil eye paint and lead HARGM3676. An Ancient Egyptian cosmetics pot found Analysis on the eye-paint by York University, who used mass and gas spectrometry, revealed the eye paint was made from the black lead ore galena, crushed and mixed with date palm oil.It came from Abydos date circa 1500BC.
- - Egyptian Miniature Glasswares. Egyptian miniature glassware vessels, from the New Kingdom, dated to the 18th Dynasty 1550-1307 BC. The method of production was to wind threads of molten glass around a core of sand, clay, and mud. Held by the Freer Gallery of Art.
- - Kohl Container Inscribed for Queen Tiye. Egypt, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III, 1410 - 1372 B.C. Furnishings; Accessories Faience, blue glaze, details in black Height: 3 1/4 in.
- - Bronze kohl stick, Egypt, 1575-1194BCE. The Egyptians wore kohl around the eyes as a cosmetic. It not only gave the wearer a beautiful appearance but was believed to have medicinal as well as religious purposes. Held by the Wellcome Collection.
- - Egypt, stype of wig, Mortuary Chapel of Ramose, 1380 BC. Egypt, stype of wig worn by daughters of Ramose, Mortuary Chapel of Ramose, Thebes. Relief Held by the Wellcome Collection.
- - Figure of a Woman. This fragment is from a group that depicted the woman with another person, probably her husband. It was likely intended to be placed in their tomb. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Scribe Statue of Min-nakht. Min-nakht is reading the papyrus on his lap. One of the first New Kingdom sculptures of this type, Min-nakht's statue was inspired by early Middle Kingdom style, including his large, prominent ears and his wig. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Head of a Man. This fully carved head of a man has a long wig. The left side of the head is broken off, and it is broken at the neck. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Wall Painting: Woman Holding a Sistrum. The woman in this fragmentary painting from a tomb wall has a wig of long, full hair, held in place by a flowered headband and topped with an ointment cone, a perfumed substance placed on wigs that gave off a fragrant aroma as it melted. A lotus blossom adorns the front of the headband. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Kohl Vase in the Shape of a Palm Column. In ancient Egypt, vessels were formed by heating powdered glass in a furnace around a clay core. Once the glass had melted around the core, glassmakers trailed threads of molten glass around the vessel and combed the trails with a pointed tool to create patterns. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Palm Column Kohl Tube. During the New Kingdom, kohl, a dark, cosmetic eye paint, was often stored in small, slender vessels. The shape of these flasks resembles a palm column, a shape derived from architecture. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - AmarnaCosmeticJarDwarf MetropolitanMuseum. Cosmetic jar in the shape of a dwarf, from the reign of Akhenaten, circa 1353-1336 B.C.
- - Khol Jar Fragment. Egypt, New Kingdom (1569 - 1081 BCE) (decoration and inscription possibly modern) Furnishings; Serviceware Stone 2 1/8 x 1 3/16 in. (5.4 x 3 cm) Gift of Jerome F.
- - Combs, New Kingdom, Dynasties 18 20, c. 1550 1070 BC, wood, pigment Oriental Institute Museum, University. Exhibit in the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA. This work is old enough so that it is in the.
- - Double Kohl Tube and Stick. Egypt, 19th Dynasty, circa 1315-1201 B.C. Tools and Equipment; containers Ebony Gift in honor of Nancy Thomas (AC1999.116.3) Egyptian Art Currently on public view: Hammer Building, floor 3.
- - Shang Bone Hairpins (10197643816). Yin Ruins and Museum, Anyang, final capital of Shang Dynasty, c. 1400-1100 BC.
- - Statue of a Standard Bearer: Hor-nakht. Shown in the elaborate wig and gown of a New Kingdom courtier, Hor-nakht is depicted as a participant in a temple procession, carrying the standard of a ram-headed deity, perhaps Amen-re, in his left hand. The presence of an ankh, or life sign, in his right hand is unusual for a statue that does not represent. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Ancient Egyptian kohl pot and stick, 1800-200 BCE. Ancient Egyptians used a form of eyeliner called kohl to enhance their eyes. This replicated the appearance of the sun god, Re. Held by the Wellcome Collection.
- - Ivory kohl pot, Third Intermediate Period (1070-714 BCE) Qau el Kebir, Fitzwilliam Museum. The two kohl tubes are placed on either side of a female figure. Found in a mass of bone and ivory in the entry of a re-used tomb.
- - East Greek plastic aryballos - helmeted head of warrior - Berlin AS F 1305 - 01. Object type / vase shape: East Greek plastic aryballos (perfume bottle) - shape: helmeted head of warrior, aryballos-mouth on top of the head - painting technique: lustrous clay colours - production place: East Greek (Ionia? / Rhodos?) - period / date: early archaic, ca.
- - East Greek plastic aryballos - pomegranate - Berlin AS 1963-10. Object type / vase shape: East Greek plastic aryballos (perfume bottle) - shape: pomegranate, aryballos-mouth on top - painting technique: lustrous clay colours - production place: East Greek (Ionia? / Rhodos?) - period / date: early archaic, ca.
- - East Greek plastic aryballos - swan - Berlin AS 1963-12. Object type / vase shape: East Greek plastic aryballos (perfume bottle) - shape: swan (but relatively short neck: duck?), aryballos-mouth in front of the body - painting technique: lustrous clay colours - production place: East Greek (Ionia? / Rhodos?) - period / date: early / high archaic, ca.
- - Aryballos, Corinthian, early 6th century B.C.. Aryballos, Corinthian, decorated with the figure of a man and birds in brown, red and black on a buff grounds. Held by the Wellcome Collection.
- - East Greek plastic aryballos - ram - Berlin AS 1963-11. / vase shape: East Greek plastic aryballos (perfume bottle) - shape: crouching ram, opening on top of the head - painting technique: matt colours on white slip - production place: East Greek (Ionia? / Rhodos?) - period / date: high / ripe archaic, ca.
- - East Greek plastic aryballos - toad - Berlin AS F 4051 - 01. Object type / vase shape: East Greek plastic aryballos (perfume bottle) - shape: toad, flat shape, aryballos-mouth in the middle of the back, 2 perforated lugs on the back for suspension - painting technique: lustrous clay colours - production place: East Greek (Ionia? / Rhodos?) - period / date: high / ripe.
- - Lacquer painting from Ch u State. Lacquer painting from State of Ch'u (704, 223 BC), buried in about 316 BC. Jingmen, Hubei, China.
- - Miroirs Ve siècle. av. J. C. De gauche à droite MNC 1022 (salle 407 en juin 2024) MNC 992 MNC 943 MNC 313. Louvre Museum ; Premier à gauche : miroir - -475 / -425 (2e quart Ve s. av. Held by the Louvre.
- - Bote de khol. Periodo meroítico. Bote de kohol de madera de forma cilíndrica. Presenta una decoración incisa de líneas, separadas en dos grupos, que rodean toda la pieza.
- - 0299 - Archaeological Museum, Athens - Mirror cover - Photo by Giovanni Dall Orto, Nov 11 2009. Achilles and Troilos ?, cover for a bronze mirror, circa 320 bC, formerly in the Stathatos collection, now on display in room 43 of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, November 11 2009.
- - 7277 3rd century BC mirror Museo archeologico nazionale, Taranto, room XII Photo by Giovanni Dall Orto. Gilded mirror, exhibited among the findings from the Grave of the gold objects (3rd century BC) from Canosa, in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - Italy. Room XII (12).
- - 7278 3rd century BC mirror Museo archeologico nazionale, Taranto, room XII Photo by Giovanni Dall Orto. Gold jewels, exhibited among the findings from the Grave of the gold objects (3rd century BC) from Canosa, in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - Italy. Room XII (12).
- - Warring States Jade Xi (Hairpin). 3rd century BC. Jiangsu Provincial Museum, Nanjing, Jade Gallery.
- - 7279 3rd century BC mirror Museo archeologico nazionale, Taranto, room XII Photo by Giovanni Dall Orto. Mirror (3rd century BC) decorated with a scene showing Aphrodite near Eros who is playing the Pan pipe, exhibited (among the findings from the Grave of the gold objects, from Canosa, Apulia, Italia) in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - Italy. Room XII (12).
- - 7282 3rd century BC mirror Museo archeologico nazionale, Taranto, room XII Photo by Giovanni Dall Orto. Detail (Eros playing the Pan pipe) from the mirror from the findings from the Grave of the gold objects (3rd century BC) from Canosa, in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - Italy. Room XII (12).
- - Museo archeologico di Tarento (shell). Gilded Mirror in the form of two valves imitating the shape of the Pecten Jacobaeus, exhibited among the findings from the Grave of the gold objects (3rd century BC) from Canosa, in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto - Italy. Room XII (12).
- - Queen Mother of the West from a Wall-Painting in Han Dynasty Tomb. Queen Mother of the West (Hsiwangmu) dressing in the Han dynasty style Hanfu, on a wall mural from the late Western Han dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD) or even Xin Dynasty era (9-25 AD) tomb in Houtun Village (Houtun cun, 后屯村), Dongping County (Dongping xian, 东平县), Shandong Province. Source: Penn Libraries.
- - Aryballos. The cosmetic vessel consists of a hedgehog shaped body on a small rectangular plinth, a neck with large lip, and a handle on top of the animal's back. The prickly body of this hedgehog is shown by a cross-hatched pattern.
- - Mummy Mask of a Woman. Mummy masks of the Hellenistic and Roman periods often had gilded faces that reflected the association of the deceased with the gods. This mask has been molded over a core, with layers of mud and linen. Held by Walters Art Museum.
- - Squatting Representation of Mut. An amulet made of pale sheet gold representing a cloaked figure seated with knees drawn up. The figure wears the double crown (of Upper and Lower Egypt) over a long wig. Held by Walters Art Museum.
…and 2,408 more moments.
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