As a child, I read in one of those "101 Wacky Historical Facts"-type books that Egyptian women would put cones of scented wax on their heads, which would melt throughout the day and drip down their bodies, perfuming their skin. It popped into my head recently and I Googled around, but I can't seem to find anything definitive. From what I can tell, it seems to have started as an explanation for the cone-shaped objects on the heads of women in ancient Egyptian art. Is there anything other than speculation behind this?
Yes, its pretty well accepted that the yellow and white cones seen in Egyptian art from the New Kingdom are cones of fat that were meant to perfume the person as they melted. However, they were only worn in scenes where people were meant to be enjoying themselves, like a feast or festival. They were also worn by both men and women in art. Of course, the frequency with which they would have been worn in real life and whether artistic depictions are completely accurate is up for debate, but the basic concept of perfumed cones is sound, as strange as it may seem to us.