4,000-year-old handprint discovered on Egyptian artifact

Researchers have discovered an intact handprint on an ancient Egyptian artifact dating back about 4,000 years that is on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.

Researchers have discovered an intact handprint on an ancient Egyptian artifact dating back about 4,000 years that is on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.

The handprint was found on the bottom of a “spirit house” – a house-shaped clay tray used in Egyptian tombs to place offerings or house the soul of the deceased. The artifact was made between 2055 and 1650 BC, according to the museum.

The fingerprints may have been left when the potter lifted the “spirit house” while the clay was still wet to dry and put into the kiln.

Helen Strudwick, an Egyptologist and senior curator at the museum, said this was the first time such a clear handprint had been found on an Egyptian artifact.

“When you see this, you feel like you are directly connected to the craftsman from millennia ago. You can see all the fingers and even the base of the hand where it touches the object. It is a very moving moment,” she said.

The handprint was discovered during the conservation of artifacts in preparation for the exhibition “Made in Ancient Egypt” scheduled to open on October 3 at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The exhibition will focus on the production process of artifacts such as jewelry, pottery and sculpture; at the same time, it will highlight the role of ancient craftsmen, who have often been forgotten by researchers over the centuries.

Since 2014, the Fitzwilliam Museum in South East England has been conducting research into the techniques of ancient Egyptian artisans. However, information about the potters is still very limited.

Because pottery was generally considered of low value, potters of the time may have been placed in a lower social class than other artisans.

“We can’t be sure who left the prints,” said Ms Strudwick. “They’re quite small. If they were a man, he would have been young or perhaps an apprentice who was carrying the artifacts out to dry.”

Ms. Strudwick emphasized that, thanks to new research methods, we can increasingly understand how potters lived, worked and wished to be remembered through time./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phat-hien-dau-tay-4000-nam-tuoi-tren-hien-vat-ai-cap-post1052493.vnp